Scythes, Swords, and Shields
by Trigunner
Summary: There are many reasons to be a huntsman/huntress. One wants to be a huntress because she wants to help people, like those before. One wants to be a huntsman for the sake of his family name, and his future. Another wants to be a huntsman because, let's just say he wants to make amends. I'm not talking about Blake. I'm talking about someone else. From Atlas. Rated T for language.
1. The Stains of Time

**This OC I've designed has been in my mind for a good while now. I tried to put him into a team, and the story had no definite story. I tried it again, and that story failed before it was even posted. But now that there is a plan, and I have a more developed OC that's made from multiple sources, I am sending in the young captain alone.**

**Anyways, there are many reasons for someone to be a huntsman. One wants to be a huntress, like her mother and the hundreds of others from stories and legends. The second wants to be a huntsman, to truly live up to his family name and be the hero he knows he can be. As for the third, however, let's just say he was desperate, because he wasn't given a choice about anything he was told. That was, until he left for a brighter life.**

**This is the story of a new trainee at Beacon Academy, whose background and history may remind you of a certain cyborg ninja, and whose skillset and attitude may make you think of a particular super soldier, or a black swordsman. And our story starts off, about 5 years before the time of RWBY...**

* * *

Chapter 1: The Stains of Time

_It was nighttime, and the shattered moon orbits overhead, sending as much light from the sun to the planet as it could, like always. The sky roared with thunder, and the moonlight was dulled with thick storm clouds. The forest below was under heavy rain, and a lone teen in a blue overcoat stood with a metal bracer on his left arm. Soldiers of similar age had their guns ready, but not aimed at him. They looked concerned, or confused, that this boy appeared before them. Actually, they seem surprised, that their own leader appeared before them._

_-soldier: "C-captain, is that you?"_

_Wash away the anger_

_-teenager: "..."_

_Here I stand beneath_

_The warm and soothing rain_

_The droplets falling_

_Gently down on the terrain_

_Wash away the sorrow_

_All the stains of time_

_But there's no memory_

_It's only dry inside_

_-soldier: "W-we thought those beasts might've gotten you."_

_In the mud and sinking deeper_

_-teenager: "...which beasts?"_

_Into a peaceful life_

_-soldier: "The Faunus, of course!"_

_And it will come_

_Like a flood of pain_

_Pouring down on me_

_And it will not let up_

_Until the end is here_

_And it will come_

_Through the darkest day_

_In my final hour_

_And it will never rest_

_Until the clouds are clear_

_Until it finds my dreams have disappeared_

_-soldier: "Captain, come with us! The general-!"_

_-teenager: "I've had enough of his segregation!"_

**_Que:[The Stains of Time- MGR: Revengeance]_**

_A blue energy shield expanded from the teen's bracer as he ran forward for action. Dust guns were fired, but ping as they bounce off of solidified energy. More guns went off, but missed and hit rock and trees. Punches and kicks connected, and more young soldiers fell into the mud. More guns are fired, to no avail._

_The strength and skill made the soldiers know that this boy in blue and grey they called a comrade had the potential to be a huntsman himself, and that he's beating their faces and driving their butts into the mud with it. But others knew him before, and realized that he has become more powerful than last time. Less than a single squad remains as the young warrior continues to fell them. One tried to draw his shotgun and shoot the teen in the back, but a sniper rifle sounded in the distance, and that soldier took one to the shoulder and was sent sprawling on the ground._

_The teen stopped as he heard the sniper go off and let the ones he knocked down try and stand up. At least, the ones that were still conscious._

_"I've learned that we must know our targets before thinking about attacking." the teen said to them. "I know that you guys aren't malicious, just misguided. Which is why I didn't kill anyone."_

_The men continued to stand back up as the teen's energy shield dissipated from his arm._

_"Consider this my resignation, men." he continues. "I know I can't do what's right with his hand on me."_

_The soldiers nod as they retreat to the extraction point, through the forest and in another clearing. The teen sighs as he turns the other way and walks into the forest, where a pale-blue haired cat faunus awaits. Unfortunately for them both, he won't be there for long._

* * *

**Not a bad start, huh? Well, I promise that this will be better than that "Ninjas of Love" thing I did earlier.  
**


	2. The Boy in Blue and Grey

**Okay, taking things to a more lighter tone, now we'll have this set to after the breach in volume 2. This has got to be my third rewrite and I hope I don't abandon it now.  
**

**Now then, on to chapter 2!**

* * *

Chapter 2: The Boy in blue and grey.

"But Ruby, I don't want to ride the ships." Jaune whined.

"Now Jaune, if we are to make it back to Vale we have to take the airships." Ruby said back.

Jaune sighed in defeat as he and his little read friend walked toward the docks towards the cliffs. Two days after the breach in Vale, the students of the huntsman academy tried to readjust to the major turn of events. For our two leaders in particular, Jaune and Ruby decided that today would be a nice time for them to hang out and to pretty much know what's going on in their times. But within minutes of deciding that after breakfast, Jaune began to show more reluctance to getting on the ships by not stepping onto the loading ramp.

"Jaune, we have to get on." Ruby reminded.

Her blonde friend drooped down a bit before saying, "I… I just don't want to make another mess, Ruby." he said out of shame.

"Jaune, during that breach in Vale, did you get sick flying over to save us?"

"That was different, Ruby. My focus was entirely set on the city. I'm not sure how I would maintain my balance when my sights are everywhere."

People began to spot the two students and moved around them. But amidst the crowd, a single figure, between Jaune and Ruby's age and height, stood there watching the two acquainted leaders as the red one tries to get the blonde one to get on the ship. After giving a huge sigh, he walks up to them, and doesn't get noticed by them.

"Motion sickness?" he asks the girl.

"Y-yes." Ruby replies. "My friend here is scared of non-land vehicles because of this."

"How bad is it?" the person asks again.

Jaune nearly shouts, "What do you think?"

"It may not be that bad." the boy says.

"Really?" Ruby turns to the boy, frustrated. "Have you ever had to deal with people with motion… sickness?" Ruby's anger dropped as she looked at the boy who spoke to her.

His face seemed somewhat feminine, but the rest of his body is obviously masculine. He had slightly long, black hair, tan skin, and blue eyes. He wore a navy blue softshell jacket that has silver stripes spread from around his shoulders to across his chest. Where the stripes met in the center is a silver pentagon, tip pointing down, at the center of his chest. His lower body featured a pair of gunmetal grey cargo pants, what the two thinks is a utility belt, and black and silver striped hiking shoes. His lucky charm being a bandana as blue as his jacket around his neck having his personal symbol and a few wings in white.

Over his shoulders is a green army kit bag and a deep leather knapsack

"Yes." the boy answered. "A lot."

From what she can tell, this guy had an intense look in his glare, making the two shudder a bit. The boy takes his focus off of Ruby and looks at Jaune. He notices a familiar sword in a white sheath. He then looks at Ruby and notices her scythe, condensed behind her back.

"I assume you both are leaders at Beacon." the boy says.

Jaune, who was also getting used to the boy's intimidating look, stutters, "Y-yes. Sh-she and I a-are first year leaders."

And just like that, the boy's expression went from frightening and serious to engaged and ready.

"In that case." he says, more adventurous than stern. "I'd might as well tell you two how to deal with it, and not feel woozy."

"R-REALLY!?" the two leaders asked out loud.

"Really, really." the boy answered.

Jaune and Ruby accept the boy's assistance before following this mood shifting person onto the ship and into the viewing cabins. They look at each other, then at the boy, wondering if they have just made a new friend.

"So." the blue boy says, getting the two leader's attention. "What are your names?"

Jaune, being the gentlemen he is, takes the initiative to respond before Ruby. "Well, good sir, the name is "Jaune Arc". Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it."

The blue boy looks at Jaune blankly and simply tilts his head. "Do they?"

"T-they will!" Jaune stutters. "Or I… I hope they will."

""Hope they will?" Are you sure?" the boy regurgitates, raising an eyebrow. "Because unless my sights are deceiving me, it seems that you already have a "lady" with a liking for you."

Jaune looked back at him, confused, then looks at Ruby right next to him. Her face was as red as her cloak and Jaune followed suit from equal embarrassment. And it was Ruby's turn to talk.

"O-oh no." Ruby said, chagrin and averting her gaze. "W-we're just the close friends since first semester. See, I sort of set off a small vial of fire dust and blew up a bit of the courtyard and was left alone in the crosspaths. Then Jaune came up introduced himself, helped me to my feet, talked to me and…" Ruby felt a piercing glare descend upon her innocence. She turned back to the blue boy to see him rubbing his chin with a observant look on his face. "S-stop that!"

"Right, right. I'll stop, Ms…."

"Rose. Ruby Rose."

Just then, the ship began to cast off, catching almost all of the passengers by surprise. The blue boy adjusts his footing to stay balanced while helping the two leaders with theirs. He looks at Jaune, seeing his eyes start to close.

"Ruby, help Jaune to a window."

The redhead in question heard this and complied, putting one of Jaune's arms over her shoulder and walking him over to one of the side windows. The blue boy follows them and sets his bags on the floor while pulling out a tiny, pink prism-candy from his belt pouch. Then, he puts a hand on Jaune's shoulder and points towards the city skyline in the distance.

"Do you see that?" he asked.

Jaune and Ruby look at the blue boy, then at where he's pointing.

"Yep." Jaune says, his eyes more open than a few minutes ago. "That's downtown Vale"

"Indeed." the blue boy agreed. "Set your adjust your sights on it. Your balance system will be more sound when you focus on a solid structure."

The blue boy hands the pink colored candy to Jaune.

"This will steady your stomach. Try your best not to swallow until we land."

The blonde of the three looks at the blue boy before taking the candy, removing the wrapper, and popping it into his mouth. Jaune chews for a few seconds, but then notices the candy had a gentle sort of sweetness, and a fruity taste.

"It tastes like strawberries." Jaune said, to which Ruby's head snapped in his direction. "I thought it was some sort of motion sickness medicine or something."

The blue boy chuckled a bit, then puts a candy into his own mouth. "I said it will settle your stomach. I didn't say it was medicine."

"Are you two eating candy?" Ruby asked the boys.

Jaune looks at the little red as the blue boy pulls out another piece of candy.

"OOHH, I know what that is! Can I have one?" Ruby asked, beaming childishly at the candy in the boy's hand.

The blue boy gives a sigh before setting the the candy into the 15 year old.

"Yay!" Ruby cheered before eating the candy.

All three continue to stare at Vale, whether it be for the magnificence of that city, or just to steady themselves from motion sickness. Jaune and Ruby look at the blue boy again and watched as he stared at the green light at the main tower, like it really were a beacon of hope. He wasn't smiling. He wasn't angry. He's just… looking. Perhaps wondering. But he wasn't relaxed, that's for sure. The two leaders did not know who this guy is, let alone his name. That was when the two remembered something they forgot to ask.

"Um, excuse me… sir." Ruby said, getting the blue boy's attention. "We told you our names, so what's yours?"

The blue boy looked at Ruby, then stares down at the ocean, his stature dropped a bit. Jaune and Ruby look at the blue boy's drooped expression, before the blue boy looked back at them with a frown.

"I… can't reveal my true name to you guys yet. For now, you can refer to me as "Krom"."

* * *

The time met Vale just 2 hours before noon, and it was at that moment where the dust ship landed at the docks. And the moment when Jaune was the first out the door and kissing the pavement, taking in the foundation of solid ground beneath his being. Ruby and Krom step off the ship with everyone else and saw Jaune facedown on the floor with a smile on his face. Ruby laughed at the childish sight while Krom tilted his head in confusion.

"Is he usually like that when he lands?" Krom asked.

"You'd better believe it." Ruby answered. "Before you came, Krom, Jaune would throw up every time he and I flew to Vale."

Before Ruby could continue, Krom felt a large body tackle him to the ground and hug him tightly.

"Omigosh!" Jaune cheered. "Thank you so much for not letting me regurgitate my breakfast onto the deck!"

"Is it really that bad?" Krom asked, slowly getting up with Jaune on him.

"Well…" Ruby started. "Yes. He has been doing that since the start of the school year."

Krom's eyes widened a bit to Ruby's statement and Jaune's illness. Guess it is. Very calmly, he grips part of Jaune's neck, feels as he painfully loosens his grip and puts him on the ground. But just as he let go, Krom felt a vibration emitting from one of his belt pouches. He opens one, reaches in, and pulls out his grey scroll, which he puts to his ear.

"Krom: on the line." he starts. "Oh, sir... Right. I'll be there in a minute… Got it." He puts his scroll away and looks to the two leaders. "Well, Jaune, Ruby. I have business to attend to."

"That's fine, Krom. Take care." Ruby said.

And with that, Krom took up his kit bag and walked towards the Beacon tower, leaving Ruby to watch him go and Jaune to

"A strange guy, isn't he?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah." Ruby answered. "But I wonder what wrong with him."

Jaune took of note of the concern in Ruby's expression. Seeing her like this, he's seen it many times before.

"What do you mean?" he asked

Ruby looked back at him. "He didn't smile. Once."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

Jaune walked up to Ruby, then stared at in the direction of Krom's departure. Then he said, "I have a feeling we'll be seeing that guy again. Maybe you can ask him then."

* * *

And indeed, Ruby kept recalling those moments where she and Jaune met that mysterious boy, many hours later. Say, at around 6 in the afternoon. Sitting on a bench, watching twilight enter the horizon, she wondered of his full name, of his history, of his combat ability, of his reason to be in Vale. Also, the last time she saw someone who associated themselves with some sort of metal, they came from Atlas. Ruby continued with these thoughts, until she felt a hand on her shoulder. Startled, she jumped into a battle stance and reached for Crescent Rose on her back, only to stop herself when she saw her favorite blonde friend (not sister) standing there, shocked at her reaction.

"Oh, s-sorry Jaune." Ruby said nervously.

"I...it's fine, Ruby." Jaune replied, lowering his head.

"Hey, Jaune, it's alright. I was just startled, that's all." Ruby began to sneak a smile, making Jaune start to relax, himself.

"Oh, okay, good." Jaune said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Should we go get ice cream?"

Ruby immediately snapped out of her spaced-out state and back into the real world. Jaune is now mere feet away from her and just asked her a question. She… just needs to remember what he was asking.

"Uh… I'm sorry." she said. "What were you asking?"

Jaune saw how adorable Ruby gets when something like this happens, and gave off a little laugh.

"What is it, Jaune?" Ruby asked, now more confused.

"I-I'm sorry." the blonde one said. "I was just asking you if you want to get some ice cream."

"O-oh!" Ruby said, surprised. "Sure, Jaune. Why not?"

* * *

It didn't take long for Jaune and Ruby to find a nice place called, Stardust Diner. And at first sight, it seemed pretty popular. People were going in for sandwiches, burgers, drinks, hot dogs, and most importantly, ice cream. Our two leaders went inside and picked out which ever frozen delight fitted their hunger and cravings. Jaune ordered the classic, ice cream sundae while Ruby picked out a strawberry cookie milkshake.

"Wait, strawberries?" Jaune wondered out loud. "I always thought you always had a thing for chocolate chip cookies."

Ruby heard this and smiled at Jaune saying, "Well, the school doesn't distribute strawberry flavored cookies back at Beacon's cafeteria. Besides, I've always had a craving for strawberries."

Jaune took in Ruby's adorable statement, and smiled in response. He always knew there is something new to learn about everything, and that Ruby's interests and dislikes are just that. And to him,those things would be something worth discovering. Jaune then averts his eyes and starts to scan the inside of the diner. There were some couples, a few groups and gangs here and there, and occasionally, entire teams such as Team CFVY in the corner. Our two leaders decided to walk over to a 2-person table and enjoy their treats from there.

"They look like they're getting along just fine." Ruby said, sipping her strawberry milkshake.

"Yeah." Jaune said before taking a spoon from his sundae. "I wonder what they're talking about?"

"Probably about Coco's fashion sense or something."

The two continued to observe the 6 near-contrasting groups until something about the badge engaged a conversation for Jaune.

"Oh, speaking of which." he said, making Ruby turn to him. "How exactly did a hole get blown into Vale?"

"Oh, that." Ruby put her milkshake on the table. "Well, you know how my team was sent to an abandoned city, southeast of Vale?"

"I only recall you girls flying southeast, but the remains of a city? I don't remember that."

"Well that's where we went. We blasted our way through the beowolves that roamed there, got to see a herd of Goliath grimm, and slept in the ruins of one of the buildings."

Jaune nearly spit out his sundae when he heard the name of that grimm.

"Wait, Goliaths!?" he asked, almost from surprize. "Did you have to fight it?"

"No." Ruby continued. "According to Oobleck, the Behemoths managed to evolve to the point where they have their own intelligence. It's like they did not want to fight."

"Wow." Jaune said, both are almost done with their treats. "So, what about that breach from two days ago?"

"Oh, that." Ruby said, sucking the remains of her milkshake very fast. Jaune, being the concerned friend he is, shouted, "Ruby, wait!", but it was too late. Now the little red scythe wielder shall pay the ultimate price for her childishness.

"OWW! BRAIN FREEZE!" Ruby squealed as she clutched her hair and bumped her head on the table.

Jaune left his seat and walked over to her, the proceeded to hug her head to help her poor brain warm up. The whole diner stopped what they were doing to see the adorable/awkward scene unfold. Jaune was hugging Ruby's head while Ruby wrapped her hands around Jaune's waist, drawing him closer. The blonde of the two took a look around and all eyes in the diner were looking straight at him. To improvise, Jaune shyly said, "Uh… she's got brain freeze, you guys."

"OOOooohhh…" the diner went, and returned to their business. Soon after, Ruby recovered from her ice-cream headache, and looked at Jaune's ice cream sundae.

"He Jaune, are you going to eat that?" she asked sweetly.

Jaune looked at his younger friend, only to see that same puppy dog smile she was infamous for. But before he could let it escalate, the blonde immediately went, "NO!", released Ruby and downed his sundae, leaving a jaw-dropped waiter, an entire diner shocked, and a pouting Ruby, who was teary eyed and whimpering in response to Jaune's actions. Jaune slammed the cup and spoon onto the table.

"BWAHAHAHA!" he shouted in victory, making Ruby pout even more. "I managed to finish my sundae before you could-" he stopped suddenly, then clutched his own head. "OWW! BRAIN FREEZE!"

* * *

**I couldn't help it! I've witnessed so much fluff between these two that I had to do something as adorkable as getting brain freezes in a place that serves nice ice cream. Also, Krom is going to appear solo, so I only have to worry about one OC's character development and not a whole team, because that's what threw me off those first few times. So read and review, as well as give your opinion on how this will go down. If you are new to this arc, then you're in for a big surprise.**


	3. Yang's Rampage

**Hey, guys. What's up? I sort of just got back from watching Avengers: Age of Ultron, and I was impressed on how the visuals, the plot, and the action created such an amazing film. Vision, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch join the team, which shouldn't be a surprize to you at all. Also, my favorite Avenger, Captain America, had been given with a more fluid battle style as well as a repulsor powered call-back feature on his shield for an easier return. His conflict with Stark had escalated, his combat had evolved to display his ability, and those quotes and speeches. Oh man, he is not called a leader of the Avengers for nothing.**

**With that being said, please enjoy chapter 3 of Scythes, Swords, and Shields.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Yang's Ramage

"Owww." Jaune groaned. "Guzzling that sundae was not a smart move."

"Well, maybe this wouldn't have happened if you had given me your sundae!" Ruby complained as they walked out of the diner.

"If I did that, your brain-freeze would've gotten worse!"

"Hey, it's not my fault your hugs were so comfortable!"

They both stop. Jaune looked at his fellow leader from slight surprise. Ruby stared back at Jaune with a confused look, then her face began to redden from her last remark.

"So you wanted to hurt your brain more just for me to hug you?" the older leader asked.

"N-no! Of course not!" the younger one said.

"Hey! Jaune! Ruby!" an outside voice said.

The leaders pause and turn towards the sound to see the rest of their teams looking at them both with worry in their expressions. Jaune and Ruby regain their composure and try to say something, until they realize that Yang was not with the group. Weiss and Pyrrha, who were forward of the other 3, approached their leaders.

"Weiss? Pyrrha? Where's Yang?" Ruby asked.

"That's why we're all here." Weiss responded. "A few hours ago, Yang left for Vale for a reason she never did specify."

Upon hearing this, both Jaune and Ruby displayed a similar feeling to what everyone else is feeling. Ruby's worry for Yang is no surprize and Jaune he had shown respect for the other blonde.

"Well…" Jaune said. "Do we have any leads at all?"

Blake stepped up and answered. "Maybe not, but there is this info broker in the suburbs of town that may help us."

"Then that's where we start. C'mon, guys!" Jaune shouted, leading the groups towards this informant Blake mentioned.

* * *

Apartments and highways loomed over the roads. Almost every single one of these structures shaded the streets below, and only one lone brawler stomped through those same ways. The blonde in question, Yang Xiao Long, walked straight towards the nightclub from earlier, in order to obtain information on the mysterious girl she encountered not too long ago. She didn't know if this the club's boss, Junior, had any clues for her, but she had to try. She readies her metal bracelets before walking inside, and pushed away any thug who tried to separate herself from their boss.

But as she began to move through the nightclub, she began to sense a funny smell. She didn't know what it was, but it made her feel a bit easy for some reason. As calming as this aroma made her feel, Yang pushed to make the fragrance not stray her from her objective. Or at least, she tries to. Junior sees Yang approaching and thinks she was just there for a drink. But the serious eyes but immobile grin in her face made him know she meant business. After moving around to behind the counter, Junior started:

"Blondie, so you've come back again."

Yang's glare did not leave the black garbed overseer, and she could tell he was nervous. "Sure, Junior." she said. "And I'm sure you should have some information on this person."

Yang then pulled out her scroll and displayed a picture of someone who resembled her evil twin. Jet black hair, scarlet red eyes, Junior immediately recognized the picture.

"I thought I told you before." he started. "I've never seen her."

"Really?" Yang responded, raising an eyebrow and smiling. "And how do you think I'm going to take that?"

Junior saw what he was looking for, and smiled. Yang's eyes are slightly less open and her face is showing less signs of anger, indicating that whatever is getting Yang, it's working. So he poured a drink for the once agitated blonde, and the fluid before her was the same color as her eyes.

"You may not take it that well." he said, setting the drink in front of Yang.

The blonde looked at the drink, recognized the color despite the blackness and lighting of the nightclub. She turned back to Junior. "Are you trying to flirt me with this?"

"Not really." Junior admitted. "But I'm sure this will calm you down a bit."

Yang chugs the drink down, and then freezes.

"...or not."

She then released the glass, letting it shatter on the floor. Her heart rate accelerated, her head began to spin, she stood from the stool, panting heavily and sprawling as she walked toward the door.

"Quick! Get her outside!" Junior commanded.

With the fear of getting tossed throughout the club again, the thugs sort of tried to keep their distance from the blonde. But once they realized that the troublemaker is in no condition to attack, they frantically lifted her off the floor and carried her outside, and all the way to a rooftop overlooking the highway.

"What's going to happen to her, boss?" a henchman asked.

"What else?" Junior answered. "She will do what she does to all grimm."

* * *

The two teams kept running through the streets of Vale until they reached the town square, all 7 scanning from all angles from slight desperation. Ren, being a calm and collected type, looked into took a look inside one of the cafes and saw something that may deliver clues.

"Guys, over there!" he shouted, making the others form up on him.

Ren then pointed into the cafe where the screen was showing the news to all the customers inside. On tv, Lisa Lavender from the Vale News Network was giving the latest news on an occurrence no less than a minute ago.

"A blonde girl has been found unconscious on Vale's central highway no less than 3 minutes ago. Police say that they've identified the person as one of the students of Vale's huntsmen academy, Beacon."

Ruby was the first to respond with a sigh, saying, "Well at least we know where Yang is."

"We have our reporter, Cyril, currently on the scene. What's the situation down there, Cyril?"

The screen switched to top-down view of Vale's central highway. Cops directed traffic around 2 closed lanes, where a car with a smashed window was in front of Yang's limb body. The sight of their friend in such a state struck bits of horror through the 7 others.

"Well, Lisa." started the reporter, Cyril Ian. "The blonde girl is indeed a student at the Beacon Huntsman Academy. She is identified as Yang Xiao Long, a first year student and a member of team RWBY at the school. The witness in the car over there claimed that she saw the body tossed from a nearby structure and on her car. Luckily, no one has been injured and the girl looks like she could just stand up and walk away."

"Oh goodie!" Nora cheered. "At least we know she's okay!"

"Indeed." Jaune said in his leaderly tone. "Now we have to meet up with her and make sure she's safe!"

The moment he finished that statement, the 7 of them ran for the highways. The reporter and his record crew approached Yang with their tools in hand. The camera set on Cyril as he kneeled next to Yang, who was just getting back up.

"Miss, are you okay?" Cyril asked.

Yang groggily stood up and turned towards the reporter, then to the camera man. She seemed a little languid as her eyes were half open and her arms swayed loosely down.

"Wha… what happened?" she asked quietly.

"You have hit a car and were lying there unconscious. How are you feeling?"

Yang looked at the reporter team surrounding her. To her, everyone seemed off.

* * *

_Their eyes glew red. Their skin began to grow sikes and through their clothes. They dropped their equipment on the floor, letting them smash on the ground. Yang looked at the group with a rising far inside of herself, wondering what is going on. The group approached in a somewhat sluggish way. Their eyes fixated on the blonde brawler. Yang began to feel even more uncomfortable as she readied Ember Celica and entered her boxing stance, but the more she observed this weird world she had entered, the more haunting the image became. Their figures turned black. The red in their eyes became a solid glow, erasing the iris and pupil from each. Their forms became beast like. The sky turned red. Shadows began to creep and consume everything. Yang raised his arms into a block, but the shadows moved around her. When she dropped her guard, all she saw were grimm. Lots and lots of grimm. Beowolves, ursai, creeps, death stalkers, grimm of all variety surrounded the blonde brawler as she looked at every one of them in the face. Yang looked at all of the grimm with intense anger. But then when she pointed her vision downward, the sight that beholds her made her freeze from sheer terror._

_At first she thought they were just piles of colored rubble, but they indeed were not. Blake, Ren, Jaune, Pyrrha, Weiss, and Nora laid on the ground. Dead. Devoured. Pain and fear was apparent in their last expressions. Yang was shocked beyond control, but then realized something: where is Ruby? Then, she felt a small hand land on her foot, and upon looking more down she saw Ruby, where her right hand was stretched from her body and on top of Yang's boot. Looking a bit past Ruby, she noticed a trail of blood leading to the stumps where her legs had been viciously torn off of her body. Yang wanted to reach down. She wanted to reach down and grab her sister, tell her she is going to be okay as they both run away from the horrors of war. But she couldn't. She couldn't do it. She was dead. She was just as dead as her other friends. Just as dead as her pronounced dead mother. And now she has to stand as her dearest sister Ruby as she laid limp before her. Suddenly, Ruby's arm jolted and grabbed Yang's leg, making the blonde brawler immediately kneel down to hug her sister. But before she could get close, Yang sees Ruby's eyes start to still as she said these last words:_

_"Why did you do this?"_

_The words stuck to her. She had no idea how to respond to this. She kept staring at her sister as her body turned cold and all signs of life had vanished from her. Yang wanted to cry. Yang wanted to activate Ember Celica. But she couldn't. She couldn't. She-_

* * *

*BOOOOOM!*

Everyone stopped at that sound, as well as the sight of a large pillar of ashen smoke rose from a burning structure ahead.

"Could it be…" Pyrrha almost asked.

"I can't." Ren said.

"It better not." Weiss added.

"...only one way to find out." Ruby said, leading everyone else.

Upon reaching the scene, the whole street ahead was ablaze. Parts of the street were pounded with craters, parts of the nearby buildings suffered collateral damage, cars and trucks had no less than 4 noticeable damages, and a platoon of Atlesian soldiers were shooting at something within that obscuring wall of fire ahead. Right when our 7 huntsman were about to respond, a red dust round flies from the inferno and blasts away a chunk of the platoon. Then another shot flies, hits a part of the road, and takes out the a second group out of the once opposing squad. Anyone of them who is not blown out of the ground was quickly struck with fear and they took the unconscious bodies of their fellow soldiers away from the blaze. Another red dust attack flied at the soldiers, but at the right time, Pyrrha jumped in the way and blocked the incoming shot. The rest of the huntsman students lined themselves aside Pyrrha as they continued to look into the inferno for the source of the attack. First blonde scorching hair, then a brown leather jacket, then a set of yellow gauntlets, and an enraged expression. From this, they knew that this is obviously Yang, but upon inspecting their sights, the students knew something was wrong. She was at least 7 feet tall now, her clothes and equipment had grown with her, the fire in her hair is emitting more fire than before, and her eyes showed red everywhere instead of just her irises.

"Yang!" Weiss shouted. "You idiot! Control your rage!"

Yang growled as she scanned the 7 of them. To her, she was seeing more grimm, all in an anthropomorphic form. A beowolf with a scythe, a boartusk with a sword and shield, an ursa with a hammer, a creep with a bladed weapon, a deathstalker with a spear and shield, a king kaijitu with bladed pistols, and a nevermore with a rapier. They seemed to talk to her, but if they were people, they are likely to attack her.

"Who… are you?" she asked, gritting her teeth.

"She's serious, right? What should we do?" Jaune asked.

Nora merely smirked. "We do things the way we do in my homeland." she said stoutly.

"Oh?"

"The best way to awaken a frantic drunkard…" Nora readied Magnhild. "Is to do this!"

She immediately leapt up and slammed Magnhild onto Yang's smug head. The resulting force moved the rest of the teams back a few inches, but their two powerhouses remained in the same position. As the shock wave died down, Nora landed on the ground and smirked at Yang, whose expression had hardly changed.

"Well?" Nora said. "Have your eyes opened a tad?"

Yang extended a hand, and grabbed Magnhild and Nora's hand. The hammer user tried to break free, but Yang's grip felt like it was made of solid steel.

"You hit me." the brawler growled.

"I-it did not work?" Nora stuttered.

Then Yang extended her other hand and grasped Nora's head.

"Violence is bad!" she screamed, before lifting Nora off the ground and tossing her into a building.

Everyone else thought it wouldn't do much against their bubbly bludgeoner, until they saw her not come out.

"Jeez, that power of hers..." Pyrrha said.

Jaune then said. "Guys, we have to stop her from destroying the city. OPEN FIRE!"

Pyrrha then readied her rifle and began to shoot away at Yang, who shielded her front side with her metal gauntlets. Sort of seeing the opportunity, Blake, Ruby, and Ren looked at each other, then draw their guns and start shooting as well. Then their efforts halted as they saw Yang start to slowly grow. They stopped shooting, but by the time that happened, Yang had already gained 6 inches and was even more pissed. The hulking brawler picked up a nearby car and threw it at the 4 shooters. Pyrrha countered the attack by sheathing her rifle and catching the car with her semblance, but it was short lived as Yang ran forward and punched Pyrrha onto her back. The brawler then leaped onto her and began pounding her into the ground, each hit adding 1 inch of diameter and depth to the crater Pyrrha is in. But before any more damage could be done, Jaune lept into Yang with his shield at her face and onto the ground.

"Weiss, freeze her!" Jaune commanded.

Weiss switched Myrtenaster to ice and sent a wave of ice which Jaune avoided, but the slightly hulked brawler did not, leaving her upper body mostly encased in ice.

"Blake, Ren, trip her!" Jaune commanded again.

Hearing this, Blake grasped Gambol Shroud's ribbon and threw the blade to Ren. Then, they both ran toward Yang with the faunus's ribbon stretched across the road, then under the brawler's feet, making Yang crash on the ground with some of the ice falling off. The teams looked into Yang's expression, only to see more and more of that devilish red glow and her enraged expression. Before the her friends could attempt a finishing blow, Ruby immediately sped to in front of her incapacitated sister.

"Yang?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

The brawler raised her head to look at the little girl in front of her, only to see a beowulf wearing a black and red outfit and cloak. She did not know how this thing knew her name, but upon recognising the attire, Yang's fire kicked back in, hard.

"You!" she screamed. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER!?"

The ice that had once pinned down the blazing brawler smashed off as she shot from her prone state and into another rage. Blake saw this sudden turnabout and tried to strike Yang, but the blazing brawler grabbed Blake by the arm and threw her into Ren, sending them both through a car. Weiss and Pyrrha tried to stop Yang again with ice to the legs and magnetism to the gauntlets, but Yang's fire, rage, and sheer power made the two energy manipulators more and more stressed and weary. The two famous huntresses in training held onto the blazing brawler for a mere 5 seconds, before succumbing to her raw power and losing their grip. In a fit of rage, Yang cocked Ember Celica and fired one shot bigger than one of Nora's grenades blasting the two into a concrete wall and falling down. she shot a hand from the ice and grabbed Ruby by her neck.

"Y-Yahgn." Ruby choked out. "Ith's meh. Yur s..str."

"My sister isn't a monster!" Yang yelled back at Ruby.

The words struck Ruby hard. The grip on her neck became more suffocating as the times rolled on. Seconds turned to hours as Ruby was losing her ability to live steadily wilted away. The fire around them was still ablaze, and the But then, there is concern. Is Yang truly mad at her? Or is she in intense pain at the moment? These questions were left on hold as a sword swing broke Ruby from Yang's near-bonecrushing clutches. As she dropped a few feet, she felt a pair of arms catch her before she could hit the ground. The little red opened her eyes faintly, and took little note of the scars on Ember Celica.

Jaune had attacked Yang's fists and let Ruby fall into his hands. The freeing attack only made Yang even angrier. Jaune held onto Ruby and raised his shield to block a punch from Yang, only for the two of them to be sent flying into a truck. Yang sluggishly stepped towards the smashed truck with her fists clenched hard and her eyes glowing red from the extensive rage. This image of Yang sent chills throughout Jaune's body, making him freeze in shock as the hulking brawler that is Ruby's sister. But Jaune's trauma was interrupted when he heard the sound of a younger girl coughed her way to consciousness.

"J...Jaune, what happened?" she said faintly.

The mere fact that Ruby was alive in his arms was enough to snap Jaune back into reality, which he sort of regretted when he tried to move. He tried to move, but his impression on the truck he's on left him held onto it, literally. As Ruby's senses readjusted, she looked at Jaune's expression to see that usual, frantic look on his face, and turned to what he was facing to see Yang slowly coming their way.

She took a larger step forward. She cocked her fist back. Her eyes were set on the pair in the truck, clenching each other as she readied for a single attack. The pair shut their eyes, held each other harder, as they felt the waves come their way. But before the blazing brawler could deliver the final blow, all three of them heard 3 pistol shots go off. They all hit Yang's fist, making it move slightly to the right and missing Jaune and Ruby. Instead, she had punched a side of the truck and forced it back, where it hit a pillar and knocked Jaune and Ruby out of itself. Seeing that she had missed her target, she walked toward them with her same low punch ready position, but then she felt something small hit the back of her head. Turning around, she saw a boy in blue and grey.

Jaune and Ruby, who were still weak from the force they were given, looked toward Yang to see a familiar face facing her. Their eyes were widened, for they sort of knew who this guy is. Feminine-ish face, black spiky hair, tan skin, blue eyes, serious expression, yes, without a doubt, they've met before. His polymer jacket and cargo pants are the same, but the outfit altogether seemed more militant than the first.

His lower body featured what appeared to be an assault climbing harness and an enclosed pistol holster, he had paratrooper boots instead of hiking shoes, silver shin-guards, and his utility belt had pouches lined all around his waist. He wore tipless gloves were beneath a pair of silver bracers, each of which had a peculiar, electric blue circle in the center. He also wore a shoulder harness that had a large metal plate for a central connector, and a combat knife on the left strap. On his left arm, rested a 24 inch, silver and blue disk shield. The design looked like it took inspiration from a shield made from nothingness and the hilt of a particular, black sword, whose name came from the word for, "To make clear." The familiar face turned towards the enraged blonde and said:

"The sun's getting real low."

* * *

**Please mind the extensive detail I put into every moment of the scene. It's just a thing I did while listening to the theme of Nemesis T-type from UMvC3. It sort of set the mood for this.**

**In case some of you don't have that clear of a picture on Krom's shield, it's face is actually this fanfic's cover image. I designed it myself, of course. Hopefully I can update it at some point later.**

**That aside, I was also drawing reference/inspiration from another Marvel franchise that's actually airing in Japan. Code named: Disk Wars. Although it's dumb as it sounds, it wasn't meant to appeal to Americans at all, because it was designed for Japanese people to get familiar with a separate Marvel universe.**


	4. A Yellow Hulk?

**I was about to make this a flashback chapter, but I knew that would make the plot progress too fast. Either that or things will get even more confusing.**

**Look, even though I stated the copyrights/references I used, doesn't mean that the content in the story is in any way a direct copy. Otherwise, this story on its own would be considered a crossover.**

**That being said, after me getting distracted by school finals, scouting, shooting stuff, watching movies, Sword Art Online, Disk Wars: Avengers, Hetalia, Saints' Row IV, and Team Fortress 2, I finally have the time to finish this and for you to read this part of a story I'll have to stick to. So please, enjoy chapter 4.**

* * *

Chapter 4: A Yellow Hulk

"A… soldier?" Yang started, looking at the boy with a shield before her. To Yang, this grimm was different from the others. She saw was a more humanoid shape than the rest, which had jagged armor and a menacing, spiked shield. Its eyes, however, were just as devilish and red as the one with the scythe and the other that had the sword and shield. "No! You're a fake!"

Despite that raging outburst, Krom continued to observe Yang's stature, and started to access her face mostly. Everyone saw this happening, and when Ruby looked at Krom's face, she didn't see someone who seeked to kill or destroy. She saw… concern.

"Your eyes…" he started. "You're probably being led astray. A huntsman's psychological attack, perhaps. Or maybe an effect of a mind-altering drug?" His look intensifies. "Regardless…" Krom gets into a battle stance with his shield facing his opponent. "You shall not go any further!"

"Shut up!" screamed Yang, who then leaped high into the air and looked at the new target below her.

The 7 other students had hints of fear in their reactions, but Krom continued to stand firm.

"Don't be scared, you guys!" he shouted.

The brawler starts to drop into her ground smash attack with Krom about to be the center of it.

"Sir, you have to move!" Weiss yelled, but the blue soldier did not move.

Yang began to fall faster, her hands clasped together.

"Krom, come on!" Jaune said, but-

*BONG!*

The two finally came in contact, with the result being a massive shockwave that sent cars, trucks debris and the other students blown back by the impact. Krom and Yang merely moved 1 inch, if anything, where Yang backed off and Krom adjusted his footing from the shove.

"My Obdurator is made from an ancient alloy!" he shouted.

Yang winced slightly, but not before Krom forced the face of his shield into Yang's stomach. He pulls back a bit, and bashes her body as hard as he could, this time Yang was knocked back a few feet and onto her back.

"It can deflect any attack!" Krom added.

Everyone else was just getting up. Their aura levels weren't exactly critical, but the were certainly a bit dizzy. Except for Pyrrha, who was in the red. Weiss went over to help her up, while the rest of the group watched the brawler and the shield user. They were surprised how all 7 of them got knocked out of the fight with a few blows while this guy held his own against a tank busting attack. Their attention went away from the boy in blue and grey as they heard their yellow powerhouse give off a roar. She gets on her knees, and slams both fists into the ground, making the ground shake, before getting back up and attacking Krom once more. Yang was sending punches at Krom, only for them to be blocked by the Obdurator on his arm. She kept punching the shield over and over again, but Krom stood firm amidst the blows that he's receiving.

"Huddled over like that..." Yang screamed. "Are you a turtle!?"

Yang tried to send a punch from above Krom, but the young soldier jumped back and away from the brawler's attack, and put his right hand on the edge of his shield.

"Maybe I am!" he shouted, and threw his shield into Yang.

The shield spun and spun at Yang's stomach area, literally pushing her back 3 feet before bouncing off and returning to its user. Krom grabbed Obdurator by its edge, spun around, and threw his shield again, only for Yang to have ducked beneath it.

"The same attack won't work on me twice!" she shouted.

Krom stood up straight, raised a hand at Yang and said, "I know."

Yang raised an eyebrow, then felt the big metal frisbee grind itself into Yang's back, before rolling off her and shoving her onto her knees.

"Shield Boomerang." Krom said stoutly, catching his shield. "I'm not foolish enough to try the same attack twice."

The rest of the teens continued to look at the scene with disbelief at Krom's ability to hold his own after 15 punches from Yang.

"Amazing!" Jaune commented, helping Ruby up. "How does he do it!?"

"Why are you guys still here!? Run!" Krom shouted.

Jaune lifted Pyrrha into a bridal hold while Blake and Ren lifted Nora onto their shoulders. All 7 began to get clear until Ruby had to shout, "Krom! I forgot to say: Yang can absorb damage and become stronger!"

"Wait, what!?" Krom shouted back, seeing the rest of them leave.

"Why, you-!" Yang shouted, catching Krom off guard.

She sprang from her downed position and into a squealing charge. Krom rushed into his defensive stance, but when Yang came into contact knocked Krom off balance and into a car. Yang pulled her fist back as she stomped over to the car

"Oh, that's Yang." Krom said, getting out. "If she can absorb damage and send it back, is there any way to truly defeat her?"

Yang, now being 15 feet from Krom, threw a punch at the boy in blue and grey, only for the attack to be avoided as he leaped to behind her. Yang swung her fist around, Krom ducked down and out of the way. He sent a punch to Yang's face, then her gut, then her shoulder, then her face again. Krom continued to land blows on Yang, until his opponent managed break his combo and grab Krom by his arm. He tried to break out, being able to move the hand from time to time, but Yang's grip proved too powerful to break out of. Yang gave another shout before tossing Krom into another car, smashing it in two. Krom took a moment to observe Yang a second time. Her height outranked his in feet, her endurance is notable, and those cars she threw him into seemed to have given him an ache. Getting back up from the smashed car, Krom decided to investigate further.

"You seem blinded by something, Yang." Krom started "Tell me, what do you see?"

Before he could get a response, he blocked another punch.

"I see gimm, everywhere!" she screamed as she punched Krom's shield. "I see monsters that have to be destroyed!" Yang sent a downward punch at Krom, who dodged that one and continued to go on the defensive. "I see a sky of crimson red, a land covered in black, and all of my friends dead! You are one of the grimm who killed my friends, and my sister! So I have to destroy you!"

_"Agh, that could be any number of hallucinogens! But these side effects can't be the result of an ordinary drug, or substance. Black and red, grimm everywhere, dead friends…" _Then it hit him. He once met and fought someone who can create such mixtures. _"Maybe, just maybe…"_

Shoving Yang back a few feet, Krom put Obdurator on his back and scaled up a nearby building. As he started to run across rooftops, Yang leaped after him and began to follow with stomping steps and yells of fury. Krom knew exactly who is doing this, for he remembered experiencing the same torment Yang currently is. Krom continued to jump across roofs and buildings as he was running from one of Beacon's most powerful while looking for an unusually dressed man. As nice as the evening looked, with the sunset and sea ahead, Krom kept his focus as he searched and assessed, but still no sight of his target.

Krom kept running and jumping, but then the rooftop he's on blasted apart and caved him into the building.

* * *

At the docks for Beacon Academy, a large airship remained as the rest of the passengers started to board. As the interior started to pack up, JNPR and RWB took rest in one of the lounges as they assessed their injuries. Jaune was still in fighting condition while his partner, Pyrrha, was very slowly making her recovery from her aura hitting the red zone. Ruby and Weiss suffered minor blunt trauma, Blake and Ren were both battered well, and all 4 were taking care of Nora, who was practically beaten and lying on one of the couches. Footage of a collapsing building appeared suddenly, getting everyone's attention. The rubble was all that was left of the foundation until a tall brutish woman with blazing, blonde hair and all-red eyes stood up from within the wreckage.

"Oh no." Nora was the first to respond.

"If this continues, half of Vale will end up like that!" Blake added.

"Come on, guys! We have to do something!" Ruby said as she tried to pull out Crescent Rose.

"Ruby." Weiss said in her ever stubborn tone. "I'm sure that shield flinger from earlier can handle himself."

Those words made Ruby sigh in defeat as she retracted Crescent Rose back in its sheathed position.

"That may be so." Jaune said, still looking at the screen. "But where is he?"

The two girls both looked at Jaune, then at the screen to see Yang spring back into a rampage and smashing things that are already destroyed. The more she smashed, the more got wrecked. For some strange reason, she always attacked things that were ruined. As for the shield flinger in question, he was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, a sky blue colored disk bounced off of Yang's face and flew away. The blue boy showed up, caught the disk and strapped it to his arm, blocking one of Yang's punches. He then stepped forward, punched Yang hard in her gut, then stepped away as she spat out a transparent, purple jell-like substance.

"That's just gross!" Weiss complained.

"Ewww!" Ruby squealed. "I know Yang goes to clubs, but that has me concerned!"

"I know, right!?" someone said.

All of the conscious students turned to the voice to see the tanned, blonde monkey faunus and his chilled out friend walking into the lounge.

"Sun! Neptune!" Ruby greeted, standing up.

"Hey, little red." Neptune responded. "And snowflake, how have you-" He stopped to notice the two teams in a battered condition. Weiss was about to respond before getting cut short.

Sun started. "You guys took on Yang. Didn't you?"

Ruby and Weiss lowered their heads, not knowing how to explain what happened.

"I'm pretty sure that's a yes."

The two girls nodded.

The trauma from what Yang told Ruby left the little scythe wielder in a state of confusion. Then again, that statement of Ruby being a monster came from a Yang who was forced into a monster herself. Weiss didn't get to hear that statement as she was blasted into a wall and stood back out. But this conversation did not come to the attention of the other blonde who was still looking at the news footage. The moment Jaune decided to look out the door, he sees a particular person garbed in a dark purple robe, holding a oddly shaped flask containing a purple liquid. As he stood for the lounge exit, but was halted by the funny sunny monkey… guy.

"Woah there, Jauney boy." Sun said. "What exactly are you doing?"

Jaune looked back at Sun with a sure smile and replied, "Oh, I don't know. I just have this feeling that the answer to Yang's behavior might be on this ship."

This caught everyone else's attention even as Neptune shot it down with a laugh. "Oh, please. You're probably just seeing things."

"An oddly dressed person with a glass bottle." Sun added, having Neptune pause in uncertainty. "I'm sure Jaune wasn't just 'seeing things'."

"Gee, what got you guys to do that junior detective thing?" Jaune teased.

Neptune paused in trying to answer that question. As OOC as this may seem, Neptune stopped being nerdy for once, so Sun gave an answer. "For the excitement, of course. Easy as that."

"Guys, we have to help my sister!" Ruby said with Crescent Rose lowered.

"I don't know, Ruby." Jaune said. "But maybe, just maybe-"

"Okay, let's go!"

Jaune and Ruby turned to Sun, who put

"Besides, Rose, aren't you a little beat up from trying to reason with your sister?"

Ruby really wanted to help out the other two leaders, being that this was an opportunity for her to save her sister, but Sun was right. Her aura has taken a serious beating and is certainly in need of a little break. Jaune simply agreed and said, "Ruby, Sun has a point. Why don't you stay with the others and take care of Nora and Pyrrha?"

Ruby looked down then felt a hand on her head. She didn't blush. She didn't quiver. She just looked at Jaune, and nodded.

Neptune finally broke out of his frozen stance and said. "Well then, guess I'll stay here and help out."

"Thanks, Neptune." Jaune said as the two blonde haired men walked into the ship's viewing cabin. The pair moved through the ship while passing by locals and other students. People were sitting down or standing up, all trying to take in the fact that a monster is on the loose and is supposedly coming this way.

"So, Sun." Jaune asked. "What else did you see on this guy?"

"Well… I did spot a bottle that had a purple liquid in it, but he dressed up like a humanoid eggplant or something."

* * *

Dusk began to dissipate as night had come into play, and a few more explosions sounded in the distance. Yang kept chasing Krom through the city. Krom kept on blocking and dodging every attack, but whenever Yang turned her attention towards something else, he would throw Obdurator at her to keep Yang away from them. He only wanted her to focus himself, until he could find the one responsible for Yang's abnormality. He had a fix on a suspect's signal, but the source had led him to the edge of town, and he found himself at the ports. Passengers were still boarding, from the looks of it, and he still hasn't found the suspect yet.

"Well, this is just great." he thought out loud.

Suddenly, another blast sounded, sending bits of a nearby building tumbling down. It landed short of the airships, but fell right on top of Krom. The still enraged brawler in yellow stomped to the piles of rubble that was once a tourist trap/store.

"Come on out, swerp!" Yang shouted while readying Ember Celica. She smashed away at the debris, and smashed, and smashed, and smashed, before spotting a blue disk inside the rubble. As she went to pick it up, the shield suddenly sprang to life as it literally threw itself into Yang's face, which only pissed her off even more. People began to move outside to see what was going on, only to witness an enraged boxer looking back at them. Upon eye contact, Yang springs into another rage and charges at the ships. Suddenly, the blue shield flies into the back of her head, making her turn around to see the "beowolf" that was the shield flinger.

"You piece of s**t!" she shouted and fired away at him.

Krom held his ground as his shield absorbed all of Yang's dust shots and grabbed her attention.

_"I just hope whoever's inside is doing something about this!"_ he thought.

* * *

Jaune and Sun continued to search about the ship, before finding themselves at the fore deck overlooking the grounds below. Krom is continuing to hold off Yang as more passengers try to get on, which brings up a thought.

"Say, Jaune?" Sun asked the other student. "If the ships have enough passengers, why hasn't it taken off yet?"

A voice on the intercom sounded, getting the whole ship's attention.

_"Attention all passengers. We're still unable to leave the port due to a malfunction in the airship's flight system. While the system isn't necessarily destroyed, as that would mean we're crashing into the ocean, we're just unable to take off. Please remain calm as we try to fix this and the fight outside will not come onto this ship."_

"That answer you question?" Jaune remarked.

Sun rolled his eyes before the two froze to a crackling, spanish-sounding laugh coming from their left. They slowly turned their faces to see a mysterious looking person, wearing a robe-like outfit with purple fabric and green trimming. The cloak's design reminded Jaune of one of the villains he read about in his comics. He wasn't sure which one. Maybe some evil wizard, or someone's step-brother. The purple cowl featured white tinted eye pieces and two stubs coming out of the top of his head, which they assumed are supposed to be the remains of horns or something. In his hand he held a tear-shaped flask, containing the purple liquid that came out of Yang's systems, only it seemed more thick and opaque and has a sparkle to it. The two trainees put a hand on their weapons with Jaune at the forward before hearing the man speak again.

"Keep on him, lady of fire." the person said into the bottle. "Let your anger bring down the monster in front of you."

As the man said those words, the liquid in the flask started to glow faintly. Down below, Yang became even more aggressive as she stopped attacking from a distance and started to get up close and personal. She began to reign more blows on Krom as the blue shield bearer kept dodging, blocking, and countering Yang's attacks while sending some punches of his own, making the fight nearly at a standstill.

The man turned to his right to see the boys approaching, before pulling out an apple-sized bottle and throwing it at them. Jaune was quick to bring up his shield to block the flask, but upon contact the bottle exploded in a fashion similar to that of a frag grenade. Jaune was knocked to the floor from that explosion, leaving him with his sheath/shield between him and this crazy guy with whatever is in those bottles.

"So you have finally figured it out?" the person said, putting the purple flask under his cloak.

Jaune looked around to see that Sun had disappeared from behind him. He stood up with Crocea Mors in his right hand and his shield in a sort of ready position.

"Well, sort of." he said. "But really we're trying to figure things out ourselves."

As the opposition was about to pull out another flask, Sun sprang from the railing and kicks him in the face. The knight readied his sword and shield, the faunus drew both his nunchucks into their shotgun form, and they surrounded the masked alchemist. The cloaked man kicks Sun in the chest and jumps off of Jaune's shield, and runs into the cabins. Without wasting any time, the two students recover and give chase. Sun shoots at the fugitive but the shots are either avoided or they hit something else. The perp then throws a flask underneath himself and burned a hole into the floor. Sun was slow to realize this and falls in, while tossing one of his shotgun nunchucks into the air. Noticing both events taking place, Jaune jumped the new gap, caught the shotgun, and continued. The suspect continued to shove locals aside as he ran from the blonde knight. Jaune puts his sword back into his shield and aims the borrowed shotgun. Unsure of how to even aim it right, Jaune tried his best as he pointed the gun forward and plainly pulls the trigger. The gun's knockback takes Jaune by surprise as it shoves him off his feet and onto his rear end. Jaune refocuses on the man he was chasing, only to see him lying on his front with part of his pants leg missing. Jaune switched between the man he shot in the foot and the shotgun, and then sees the perp stand back up and continue to run. The suspect gets a few steps away before tripping over something. Confused, Jaune stands back up, only to see Sun standing at some stairs with his leg extended across the aisle.

"Geez. What are you, some sort of druggie?" Sun teased, retrieving his other gun-chuck from Jaune.

The man on the floor lifts himself off the ground and looks in the faunus's eyes, fury indicated by the furrows in his cowl.

"You ignorant monkey!" he said. "Drugs are for the mentally unstable! This is alchemy!"

He then drinks down a bottle containing some sort of liquid silver. Suddenly, his skin started to change from his torso outward, into what a silver colored material. Jaune's immediate response involved him attacking the alchemist, only for the sword to get deflected by the now metal skin. Sun followed up with his fury of blows, but the best that did was push the alchemist with every hit. The alchemist continued to resist the strikes as best he could and sent a punch at Sun's chest, knocking the faunus into Jaune, who caught him. Before the two could recover, a bottle with lime green fluid that covered the two in a sticky, green slime. The two struggled to break free, but the more they moved, the more they got stuck.

"Hahaha!" the alchemist cackled. "You two clearly are no match for my alchemical supremacy!"

He stood boastfully from the two entangled juniors before pulling out the bottle with purple liquid.

"As long as I have this, that fiery woman will be under my command!"

"Is that so..." said a small, quirky voice from afar.

The alchemist turned around to see a silvery, shining object fly past his face and shatter the bottle in his hand. The mixture in the potion reacted to the dust from the shot, and caused both to blast a purple smoke into the cabin. The fumes didn't seem to affect anyone, except the alchemist, who inhaled the gas and slowly passed out. The fumes started to clear as the AC filtered the air, revealing Ruby dragging Crescent Rose along the floor the floor as she approached the 2 other leaders. She finally meets up with them, only for Jaune and Sun to notice sleepiness in the younger one's expression. Erk, sorry, not sleepiness. Exhaustion, from tracking down the noise while trying to restore her body. Jaune and Sun couldn't help but to smile at this.

"Oh, hi Ruby." Jaune greeted nervously.

"Kind of a sticky situation we're in. Am I right?" Sun added.

Ruby looked at the two leaders with a stiff smile and a strained giggle. For some reason she is getting tired. She took a step forward and said, "You two really are…" but before she could finish, she falls over and lands in the slime, and right next to Janue.

"Guess she'd might as well stick around." Sun teased, which earned a raised brow from Jaune.

"Your jokes are almost as bad as Yang's." he replied.

* * *

Yang sent a powerful punch into Krom's shield, which only made him move an inch. When Krom expected another punch, all he got was growling, a hissing sound, and some slight pressure on his shield arm. He looks around his shield to see Yang still with her fist planted on the face of the shield. Smoke of varying colors misted from her body and into the air, and her size reduced steadily, until she was merely inches taller than Krom. Her eyes went from their cursed red state and into their angry, reddened iris. Despite the fact that Yang is still pissed off as hell, Krom found her a lot less threatening when she was like this.

_"Looks like they did it."_ he thought.

* * *

**I finally have the chance to finish this after about 3 months of doing things. Hopefully this chapter wasn't as farfetched as the other 2 I did earlier, but I am trying my best to get better. I went over my 3,000+ words per page routine and went to 4,000+, but either way, I hope this at least looks good. Welp, see you next time!**


	5. Into the Smokatorium

**I sort of hit writer's block while trying to develop a… so I've been watching Comicstorian on Youtube to get my imaginative juices flowing again, and I also gained a few different writing strategies that may make the content more interesting. Less detail on the environment and the actions themselves and more focus on characters and their thoughts. Also, from watching Comicstorian a lot, I have suddenly changed the perspective from past tense to present tense, so transitioning from chapter 3 to 4 will start to feel a little confusing as you read.**

**And I also went to AX 2015 and attended a panel for doing fanfiction in general and for character design. Now that I have a plan (sort of) this should be easier.**

**ANYWAYS, for the chapter that not many were waiting for, this is chapter 5 of Scythes, Swords, and Shields  
**

* * *

Chapter 5: Into the Smokatorium

The remainder of the teams continue to fix each other up while waiting for their leaders, and their missing friend. Nora has recovered to the point where she can sit upright while Pyrrha's condition had finally healed to a sustainable level, thanks to Lie Ren kneeling next to her and using his knowledge of aura manipulation to heal her. Pyrrha, lying down on the couch in the lounge the group occupies, has regained enough strength to ease the pain that had influxed her senses and to finally relax. She is no longer battered and unconscious. Just bruised and asleep. Ren stopped healing Pyrrha as fatigue began to seep into his own senses, and Blake moves over to Ren and looks in curiosity.

"Gee, Ren." Blake says. "Where did you learn such techniques?"

Ren looks back at Blake with exhaustion and answers, "It's an old technique that I learned from my family. To respect their privacy, I'd rather not explain further."

Blake smiles at her fellow ninja's response as Ren leans back against the base of the couch to rest. Meanwhile, Weiss is standing by the lounge entrance with Neptune, and is having a conversation with him, to clear him on what was happening.

"So, Yang was just missing one time?" Neptune asks.

"Yes." she replies, being as stubborn as ever. "And she didn't tell any of us, her team, about her problems. And now look where she is: blinded by something while destroying anything in her path! She can be a loose cannon, but this is just vulgar of her!"

Neptune wasn't sure if Weiss was being angry at Yang or is just annoyed that things had turned out this way. So he calmed her down by setting his hand on her shoulder and saying, "I'm sure she had her reasons."

Weiss looked back at Neptune, then looks away, feeling a bit guilty for despising Yang just minutes ago. It was just then when the shield flinger himself, Krom, walked into the lounge carrying his Obduator shield on his left arm and an unconscious Yang over his right shoulder. Blake, Ren, Weiss, and Neptune look confused at the boy in blue and grey as he just walks past them and drops Yang in front of Blake and Ren. He then turns around and points towards Weiss, but more specifically, her dust-rapier, Myrtenaster.

"Do you have ice in that rapier?" Krom asks the heiress.

Confused, Weiss stammers as she responds. "Um, yes?" she answers unsurely.

Krom nods in response and passes by her, asking Weiss to follow him as he puts his shield onto his back. She hesitantly follows, before both were stopped by Neptune.

"Woah, there, mister frisbee." he asks in a questioning tone. "Just why are you asking for Snowflake's ice?"

Weiss just looks back at Neptune, only for Krom to answer back, "Let's just say your leaders are in a sticky situation, and I know how to deal with it."

The iceberg pair stares at the shield flinger as he continues to move into the ship's cabin without looking back at them. Reminding each other that this guy fought a deadly form of Yang and held his own, Weiss and Neptune nod as they follow Krom to one of the viewing cabins.

* * *

As they enter the next cabin, the sight before them gave off a feeling of humor and annoyance. Actually, the annoyance part was for Weiss only. Sun, Jaune, and Ruby are caught in a weird green slime that the alchemist from earlier used to entangle them.

"Hey, Neptune. Feeling a little adherent?" Sun jokes again.

Jaune and Ruby look at Sun, annoyed.

"At least Yang's jokes make sense." Ruby comments.

"You dolt!" Weiss shouts as she walks up to the glued up Ruby. "You slipped from under our noses so that you could help these two idiots!?"

The leaders of JNPR and SSSN wince at Weiss's brash comment.

"Well, look at you now!" She hasn't stopped. "Caught some substance that I'm not sure of, just waiting to get rescued! And so, I will have to pull you out!"

"Weiss, wait!" Ruby warns, but the heiress puts her left into the slime to grab her, and immediately regrets it.

She tries to pull herself out of the goop as hard as she could, but the substance stretched like rubber bands and yanked her back hard. Taking immediate action, Krom swiftly takes Myrtenaster from its sheath before Weiss could get jammed with the other students. The four now stuck students look as Krom starts to observe dust-rapier he's borrowing. After a full minute of ignoring Weiss's rants and the other's grimace of what's next, Krom pulls back on Myrtinaster's hammer, setting it to its ice mode as he holds it at the ready.

"Uh… dude? Just what are you doing?" Neptune asks nervously.

Krom ignores his question, as he stabs Myrtenaster into the floor, causing a wave of frost to shoot forth and encase the 4 tangled students in a block of ice, freezing the ooze as well. Neptune flinches in shock from the sight, but comes to his senses as Krom tosses Myrtenaster at him. Krom calmly walks over to the imprisoning block of ice, takes his shield, and smashes the ice apart, freeing the 4 students. The impact left them dizzy and deafened, but when Weiss recovered and saw Krom looking at her, she stomped over to him and grasps him by the collar of his jacket.

"Just what's the big idea there, Mr.!?" she screams in his face.

But Krom just looks back, sternly. "It doesn't take much for the slime to freeze like water. Or would you prefer to wait 36 hours?"

Weiss proceeds to slap Krom in the face, but Krom catches her wrist before she could connect. Still infuriated, Weiss breaks out of the grapple and snatches Myrtenaster from Neptune as she walks back to the lounge where the others were waiting. Sun, Jaune, and Ruby start to regain their bearings as Neptune nervously walks up to Krom.

"Hey man, can I ask you a question?" he asks.

Krom just looks back, with a neutral expression on his face. "Might as well." he replies.

"You said you knew how to deal with this stuff. How?"

Krom looks back at the three leaders and says, "Because I've done this stuff before."

"Huh."

The three leaders finally recover and Ruby approaches Krom, saying, "Wait, weren't you supposed to be holding off Yang?"

Krom plainly looks back. "When you guys smashed Oxalis's potion bottle, the spell was broken and I defeated Yang easily."

"Who's Oxalis?"

Krom points to the alchemist from earlier, who is passed out on the floor.

"Oh. Soooo, how did you beat Yang?" she asked.

Krom just stood there and explained what he could.

* * *

5 minutes earlier…

Krom and Yang remained in their previous position as Krom noticed Yang's transformation back into her normal, angry self. Yang had her fist on the face of Krom's shield. Yang took a step back before pummeling at the shield again, but the man under that alloy knew that Yang is delivering fewer blows and less force than before. So Krom counters her jabs and slams Obdurator into Yang's face, knocking her out cold. Calming down, Krom just lifts Yang over his right and walks into the airship.

* * *

"I know, I know, it sounds amazing, but you guys shouldn't be showing super shocked faces." Krom states, but the 4 trainees around him still look shocked at his story. "Look, Yang was fatigued and I was just able to defeat her."

Jaune responds first. "Oh, okay, good. 'Cause that makes things soooo much less ridiculous."

The others calm down. "So, are you going to head to Beacon with us?" Jaune asks.

Krom looks to him and says, "Later. There are some things I need answered. For example…" He then looks towards Ruby. "Miss Rose, where does your sister go for a drink?"

The little red gets caught off by this question and tries her best to answer. "I-I'm not sure." she stutters. "But there is this pub she went to a few months ago, where she was looking for someone. I sort of remember seeing an open parking lot, near the highways, but-"

Krom stops her there as he walks over and lifts the alchemist, Oxalis, over his shoulder and walks out of the airship. The other 4 he just left look confused as they plainly turn back to the cabin.

* * *

The shattered moon looms in overhead as Krom carries Oxalis all the way to the location Ruby described. He found the lot she was talking about and discovered some kind of store front before him. It seemed pretty run down, but things like this only make this hidden pub more suspicious to the shield slinger. Krom sets down Oxalis's unconscious body and starts to search up and down his wares, and finds a black bandana that has white elements. Krom puts his current bandana into his pocket and replaces it with this new one. Krom continues to search the downed alchemist, then picks up Oxalis the alchemist, and walks into the storefront.

* * *

The entire club seems normal as Junior's goons are moving boxes of drinks and munitions throughout. Junior himself is standing by the bar while fixing his tie and listening to the dubstep in the room. But all of the business in the facility gets interrupted as a jacketed boy with a black colored, white patterned bandana and a shield on his back comes in through the doors with an unconscious man on his shoulder. Everyone else looks at the boy as he plainly walks over to the bar and sits the cloaked individual in a chair next to him. Junior moves over to the two nervously and engages in conversation.

"Gee, kid. What are you, 14?" he asks?

Krom looks back at him, scowling. "You're off by 2. I'm actually 16 years old. And so you know, I've done this before."

"Which one? Carry a drunk guy around, or walk into a nightclub without guidance?"

"...both."

Junior raises an eyebrow and steps sideways, reaching for something under the bartop.

"Tell me kid, if you aren't here for a drink or something, why are you even here?"

Krom puts a hand on his shoulder as his other hand is set on the alchemist next to him. "I'm here to investigate your relations with Oxalis over here…" he then shoots a serious look at Junior . "... and a blonde named Yang."

Junior panic as he pulls out his prized rocket-club, but was too slow as Krom slips the new bandana over his mouth and uncorks a bottle he took from Oxalis, causing a smoky mist fill the nightclub like a smokatorium on opening day. The smoke starts to enter systems of the other people as Krom reaches over and pins Junior to the table.

"Best start answering my question, or the smoke will fill the place until you can't even breathe." Krom threatens as the smoke around them steadily got thicker.

Junior starts to choke out, "T-that yellow brute approached my club twice, *cough* and every t-time she comes in, she gets her way." Junior continued to cough as smoke entered his systems. "S-so, I struck a deal with this mad alchemist, g-guy. *cough* Because he needed a test subject, and I needed a b**ch to be gone!"

Junior started to lose his breath more, so Krom released Junior and allowed him to stand up with smoke in his lungs. Krom then holds out the bottle that has been emitting the smoke, and smashes it against the table, causing the smoke buildup to stop and get filtered by the club's filtration systems.

"What of the chemicals and potions used on Yang?" Krom asks with his mask still on.

Junior struggles as he pulls himself upright. "The first was vapor that made anyone who breathed it lightly intoxicated. Seeing that you have some sort of gas mask, I assume you saw this coming."

Krom's scowl deepened at Junior's failed attempt to dodge the question. Junior stammered and continued.

"The second was a liquid that greatly reduced her sanity and gave her drastic powers. I slipped a bit in her drink and left her on the highway to smash away. When the fighting stopped, I assumed that that Oxalis guy was finished, until I saw you come in with his body."

Krom's expression softened to a relaxed look, but still focused. "If that's all you wanted to say, then I am off."

But as he tried to leave, the thugs in Junior's nightclub aimed their weapons at Krom. He observes the opposition to see that their posture has gotten shakey. Behind him, Junior attempts to shoot Krom with his rocket-club.

"Did you really think I would let you leave that easily?" he says.

Krom just turns around. "Nope."

Krom runs back and shoves Junior over and fires his rocket launcher at the other thugs. Some more try to take aim, but Krom was ready as he takes Obdurator off his back and throws it at them, knocking them out as it bounced off their faces. A few more thugs aim their guns to shoot, so Krom grabs Junior and uses him as a human shield against the dust guns. Krom's shield returns to its owner as he tosses Junior at a machine gunner that was attacking from behind. He then runs for the door while blocking all incoming shots and knocking down more henchmen as he went, and he bashes the door down and continues to the docks.

Upon reaching the docks, the airship heading for Beacon was just about to take off with Krom's encounters inside. Reacting quickly with adrenaline rushing through his systems, Krom leaps onto the airship and grasps the railing as it was taking off. Krom looks back at the city, and a smile forms on his face as he remembered a similar experience from long ago. Suddenly, a hand grabs onto his wrist, and he looks to see Jaune Arc holding on while chewing something.

"I assume you got on at the last second!" he yells while pulling him up.

"You learn to do that when you are almost left behind every time!" Krom replies.

Krom regains his footing as he and Jaune walk into the cabin and start to talk.

"So, what did you find out?" Jaune asks while catching his breath.

"Yang's misbehavior was the result of drug and substance abuse. Oxalis merely gave Mr. Black Bear the substances needed to make Yang go crazy."

* * *

The night deepened as the airship landed back at Beacon Academy. Nora and Ren help Pyrrha to the school infirmary while Ruby was walking with Jaune, who held Yang up as they went to team RWBY's room. Weiss and Blake already moved ahead as Yang started to talk.

"So, it started with intoxicating the air I breathed and then drugging my drink." Yang said. "Guess it was one heck of a day."

Ruby was still unsure of Yang as that time she attacked her was still in her mind. So Ruby took her courage and asked straight forward, "Yang, do you think I'm a monster?"

Both Jaune and Yang look surprised by this, until Jaune remembered hearing a hulked-out Yang yelling that in Ruby's face. Yang looks confused as she doesn't recall any action or speech she did while being as angry and dangerous as ever. And that scared her, and it scared her more that Ruby got involved.

"R-Ruby, what did you say?" she asked.

The little scythe wielder lowered her head as tears started to form around her eyes. "I-I said, 'do you t-think I'm a-" She stops as Yang broke from Jaune's assistance and knelt down to hug her sister firmly.

"Whatever I said while I myself was the monster, I didn't mean it." she exclaimed. "If anything, I am a bigger monster than you, sis. And I'm sorry."

Ruby felt relieved as she took in her older sister's words, so she smiled as best she could and hugged back.

"Okay, ladies, maybe we should be getting Yang her sleep before she ends up under the stars."

The two girls look at the goofy blonde that was talking to them and take his word. Jaune helps Yang up with Ruby sticking close.

* * *

The boy in blue and grey stands by the window of the Beacon Tower, where he stares out onto the campus that is being dimly lit by the shattered moon in the sky. That moon has given him many recollections, both good and bad. He looked back at the grounds, only to see two blondes and a dark red haired girl moving toward the dormitories. He sighs and looks at the floor, wondering what will happen next.

"You know, if all you're going to do is stare out into the night sky the you should go get some rest."

Krom turns towards Ozpin, who was looking from his chair while sipping some coffee.

"I understand that, sir. But I'm unsure of where I'm allowed to rest." Krom replied.

Ozpin chuckled as he gets out of his chair to stand next to Krom.

"Where would one place work for you?" he asks him.

Krom looks at the moon again. "I don't know. Tarp, mat, sleeping bag, and a place under the stars would do fine, I guess."

Ozpin sighs, knowing where Krom got that idea. "Krom, I think it would be better for you to get a proper place to settle down. You'll need all the sleep you can get. Besides, this isn't some reconnaissance mission you're here for, is it?"

Krom again towards the sky. Those nights he spent searching for a Faunus village are still high in his mind. But Ozpin is right. The best way to not remember that time, 5 years ago, would be to avoid a similar situation as best he can. And the General, he definitely does not want to be found by him.

"Where do you suggest, Ozpin?" Krom asks.

* * *

**And that is the end of chapter 4. I hope it was a step from my previous works.  
**

**For those who didn't understand what a smokatorium is, it's a building that appears in Judge Dredd. These places are filled with tobacco smoke, because it's the only place citizens of Mega City 1 can legally smoke.**

**Welp, thank you guys for reading this chapter, and I hope to see you all next time.**


	6. This Is But Routine

**Things have certainly gotten more difficult with me trying to work on my drawing skills and watching walkthroughs of Metal Gear.**

**To further optimise Krom's fighting style I did some research on Captain America and the 300 A.D. Spartan concerning how to fight with a shield and how much damage that can do to someone. The fighting style, I'm sure most of you have already seen that somewhere else. But the damage done, that did require some insight, and boy the results. Using references like Spike TV and the History Channel, the explanation came out as this:**

**Getting bashed by Spartan shield = 45 g's of force = getting hit by a car moving at 75 mph**

**And the attacker was just from an ordinary person. Put that in the hands of a fully trained Spartan, and you could only imagine how hard that shield bash from 300 must've felt.**

**Telling a decent story should not be a problem, and I have been trying to think of a plan, and I have made one.**

* * *

Chapter 6: This Is But Routine

The next morning goes well for Krom as he wakes from a blue sleeping bag he's in and looks around in Ozpin's suggested place to rest. And such a place happens to be a one person dorm room.

Before going to sleep last night, Krom had taken the liberty of settling himself into this small room he's in. On one side is a green cot with a dark blue sleeping bag on top. Typical, if this was some sort of camping trip. His knapsack and army kit bag are set next to a writing desk, opposite of the cot. The desk featured a sketchbook, an array of drawing tools, a desk lamp, and a stand for a scroll when it's in tablet form. Of course, like any dorm room, it has to have a bathroom and a window. Krom looks at the the layout he's of this room, and it's a step up from what he's previously been given, even though you might get the impression this living space is like a small RV trailer.

Krom grabs a blue t-shirt and grey pants from his knapsack and slips into them without leaving his sleeping bag.

_"You learn to do this when you go camping."_ he thinks to himself.

After finishing, he gets out of his makeshift bed fully clothed then proceeds to apply some black socks. When that was done, he reaches into his kit bag and pulls out what looks like a breakfast ration. He then pours the ration onto a metal bowl he also has and adds warm water. The result being some sort of oatmeal with bits of cinnamon, brown sugar, and apple inside.

Honestly, whether he's out in the wilderness or in a place that serves decent food, this is what he eats, for breakfast at least.

Just eating the bowl of stuff brought back a few memories. None of them are enjoyable, but at the same time not so bad. Some involved camping in the forest and sitting by a campfire at night. Some involved being in a dark cave. Some involved him in harsh conditions, unsheltered in the middle of the desert or high in the snowy mountains. Oh, the snow. He didn't want to remember those times when he was-

"Good morning, Krom."

Krom looks towards the door to see Ozpin walk in with his cane and a plate of cookies. Not paying any more mind to him, Krom just keeps eating his quick breakfast as Ozpin sits next to him on the cot.

"Aren't you rushing your oatmeal a little?" the headmaster asks.

Krom looks back at him with a spoonful of porridge in his mouth. "I guess years of going into the outdoors does that to you."

"You do realise that my academy serves food that are gourmet compared to that trail ration you're eating."

Krom nearly swallows his spoon upon hearing that. Ozpin chuckles and watches as Krom continues to eat his apple-cinnamon oatmeal. He then sets the cookies down on Krom's desk.

"Kontate Omnuron" he says, making the boy in blue and grey suddenly stop eating breakfast. "How do you feel about the students in this academy?"

Krom slowly sets his bowl on the desk and turns toward Ozpin.

"Mr. Ozpin, you know how I feel when people call me that." he scowls.

"Alright then, soldier." Ozpin shoots back, making Krom more nervous. "Would you please answer my question?"

Krom's scowl moves into a sombre frown as he lays back on his cot.

"I'm not sure." he says. "So far you're the only one who knows I'm staying here."

He thinks more carefully about the question he's been asked, but then remembers yellow and red. While he can't really call them strangers, he just can't quite call them friends. And then he continues eating his ration.

"Wait… Jaune and Ruby. Can they make good friends?" Krom asks between bites.

Ozpin lightens his looks and answers. "They have a reputation for having great sentiments as leaders, despite their impairments in some fields."

"Like…"

"Well, Mr. Arc needs to work on basic fighting techniques but makes up for it in tactics. Ms. Rose is the other way around, a great fighter who is less than Mr. Arc in terms strategy."

Krom continues to think about this, but Ozpin continues to give him explanations.

"I'm sure you'd be able to assist them in their limitations. And maybe they can help you with yours."

That last point got Krom's attention, just as he finished his bowl. "Why? What is it that I need help with?"

Ozpin stands up to leave, but looks back ginning. "Mr. Omnuron, when was the last time you ever smiled?"

The headmaster then closes the door behind him, leaving Krom to his own thoughts. I guess to answer the headmaster's question, he would have to say…

"...about 2 years."

* * *

The training hall as a whole looks more like a large fitness center. There are a multitude of rooms about the building, most of them having different purposes like weight lifting, boxing, swordplay, and marksmanship. While other students were in classes, whether that's getting beat up by each other or enduring Port's grueling storytelling, Krom is in the training halls, alone, practicing and exercising the day away, all because he has nothing better to do. Krom is clothed in his usual combat attire with his shield, Obdurator, in the corner next to his utility belt. Krom pounds away at a hapless punching bag in the room he's in, just as the day approaches its dusk.

People say that physical exercise is considered a way to keep one's body in the finest condition possible, while also acting as a stress reliever. For Krom it's a way to stay fit, but not a way to calm down. But rather, it does the near opposite of that. Every steady punch he hit sounded like a gunshot meeting his ears. Flashbacks began coming in short bursts, and his combos became more like beatdowns as each punch is thrown. Voices echo, including his own, reminding him of those times.

Every time these voices spoke to him, his attacks became more fierce.

_"I gave you an order, soldier!"_

Deeper...

_"Why am I even here?"_

Harder…

_"A man chooses…"_

Faster…

_"A slave obeys…"_

Surer…

_"What do you believe, cap?"_

Stronger…

_"With all due respect, I will not be your slave!"_

One final punch, and the sandbag bursts off the chains and into the wall. Adrenaline is rushing through his systems, and Krom decides that the natural course of action is to keep going. Without wasting another second, he reaches down for another sandbag, clips it to the hanger, and punches it until it blasts off. He reaches down for another sandbag, clips it to the hanger, and punches it until it too blasts off the clips.

Krom is realising that he's approaching his limit, but so much energy is coursing through his system that he strives to keep going. This time, arms and legs.

Reach down, clip on, beat down, blast off, repeat.

Krom is starting to sweat. Good.

Reach down, clip on, beat down, blast off, repeat.

He knows he's tiring out, but he can't stop. Not now!

Reach down, clip on, beat down, blast off, repeat.

Reach down, clip on, beat down, blast off, repeat.

Krom continues to slug away at the sandbag until it flies off.

All of those memories.

He just wants to hit them away.

He knocks another bag off its bearings.

He puts another one up.

He beats that one down as well.

But as continues his beatdown, another strong saying enters his mind, making his energy soar even more!

"Osorezu de susumeru! Heishi-tachi!"

Krom sends one last punch into the sandbag. this punch was so hard, that he sends the sandbag flying while tearing the beam it was on off the ceiling. He looks towards the sandbag he just sent off its chains to see 8 bleeding sandbags piled up against the wall. Luckily, that wasn't the only chain in the room.

After he finally takes the time to calm down, Krom puts the broken sandbags away in the supply locker and prepares for his shield training. Just then, another boxer walks into the gym, wearing her famous gauntlets in their bracelet form. And so, without a doubt, Yang Xiao Long has entered the premise. The blonde sees the brunette and walks up to him.

"I see you just broke some 'long lasting' training equipment." Yang says.

Krom wipes the sweat off his head with a towel he came across.

"I was just warming up." he says back.

Wondering about this guy's strength level, Yang decides to warm up herself by attacking another sandbag. Krom takes a drink from his metal water bottle and starts to observe the other brawler who has stepped in. He watches her moves, the way she throws her punches, the way she steps into them, the way she winds up, and the way she breathes. And her assets did not phase him, as he assumes they allowed more momentum into some of her attacks.

Yang sends a fine punch into the sandbag she's battering, sending it off of its chains and into the wall. This also did not catch him by surprise. Yang stops as she reaches for another sandbag to see Krom watching her while eating a granola bar.

"See something you like?" she teases.

"You could say that." Krom replies. "Your technique seems to use a lot of power, and seeing that you just tore a bag off its chains, I'm guessing that you have plenty of it."

Yang smiled at Krom's comment, but as always, Krom doesn't smile back.

A few minutes pass as Krom finishes his set of pushups and Yang shakes off her hands and looks at the sandbags she just fell. She walks over to Krom, who stands back up and takes another drink from his bottle.

"Wait, weren't you hospitalised last night?" he asks the blonde.

"Yeah, but it wasn't something to worry about." she says back. "I honestly feel ready to get back into business."

"And by that, I assume you mean you're in fighting shape again?"

"Yep."

Krom sets his bottle down and walks up to Yang. Their heights have a mere 2 inch difference, with Yang being the taller of the two at 5'8".

"I assume you seek a rematch of sorts." Krom says.

"Yeah." Yang answered. "That time you knocked me down while I was berserk didn't quite count, did it?"

"No, it didn't."

Krom then walks to his utility belt and tosses Yang a granola bar.

* * *

Our 7 students walk away from Mr. Port's class after doing everything in their power to keep busy or stay awake. While Blake and Weiss are talking to each other about the Grimm's physiology, Ruby continues to worry about her sister who slept as soon as she laid in the hospital bed. Of course, being the little sister of two always has Ruby wondering what Yang is up to.

Jaune happens to be close by as well, wondering about the condition of his partner, Pyrrha Nikos, and her current status. She is following him from behind while her right leg has left her limp. The medics said that her condition isn't so bad, but she has to refrain from fighting for at least 3 days.

Nora is being the chipper girl she's always been while following Ren, whose walking up to Blake and Weiss to say something.

"How is Yang?" he asks one of them.

Weiss responds first, "It didn't seem that bad. The medics said that she only needs bedrest and she'll be back in the field."

"I still don't think she's okay." Ruby mumbles in response., but Jaune merely looks at her.

"Well, at least your sister is doing better than my partner." he says angrily. "The medics said that Pyrrha won't be able to fight for 3 days."

Ruby steps away from Jaune, seeing that Yang was the one who brought Pyrrha to this condition.

"Jaune, I can tell she didn't mean it." Blake says to console Jaune. "Didn't we discuss that Yang was drugged when she attacked us?"

Jaune's expression lightened up as he remembered what happened, but that still didn't get the problem out of his head. That is, until Pyrrha walks next to him and puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Yang is not a bad person, Jaune." she adds. "You know she didn't truly mean to hurt us."

But just then, a message sounds in all of their scrolls as they continue to talk. Ren pulls his out first, and reads the message to them.

_"Hello, Beacon! I'm alive and well and ready for action!"_ it says._ "I'm just about to get warmed up, and beat down this other guy I've met. If you want to see this matchup, come to the fighting stage located in the training halls!"_

Ren responds to what he just read. "Wow. She's okay already?"

"Shouldn't she at least be readjusting herself?" Weiss questions.

To which, Ruby replies, "No time for that, Weiss. We have to get there and convince her to slow down!"

And our 7 students rush for the training halls, which are like clear across the entire campus.

* * *

The group arrives at the scene to see an arena similar to that of the central amphitheater. Holo screens are high above the combat zone, displaying each fighter's face and aura level. The bleachers are closer to the ground, allowing a more up-close view of the fights. Some of the students agreed, this places seems more appropriate for arena matches than the central amphitheater.

Almost the entire campus sits in the bleachers as blue and gold walk onto the arena with their arms ready. Ruby takes the opportunity to get her sister's attention.

"Yang!" she panics. "Shouldn't you be resting!?"

"I've been asleep for well over 12 hours." Yang says back. "I definitely need this."

Ruby gives off a sigh in defeat and slouches in her seat. Jaune tries to say something to cheer up his fellow leader, only to take something heavy to the head. Picking the object up, he finds that he's been hit in the head with a black tactical utility belt. Pouches lined the entire thing, only leaving room for the belt's buckle and some breathings space between the pouches. The pouches came in various sizes, supposedly containing things from practical wares to essentials for any field mission.

Jaune wanted to get curious about what is in those pouches, but was suddenly stopped as Krom pointed at him saying, "Watch that and don't mess with it. Got it?"

Jaune nodded nervously and became as nervous as Ruby, who also saw the seriousness in Krom's expression.

* * *

**I'm now going to assume that someone is going to guess what that foreign message means, or at least ask about what it says. I realised that the fight wouldn't have much influence right now, which is why it's been set to the next chapter.**

**Stay tuned!**


	7. Blue and Gold (In two ways)

**After constant editing, going to two summer camps in under a month, talking with Hectic Lord and Ezra Soulthief, and reading many other stories, I've finally made my mind as to what's going to happen. It's going to involve some references to other franchises and a major alteration to the story's format.**

**With that being said, this is Scythes, Swords, and Shields Ch.07.**

* * *

Chapter 7: Blue and Gold (In two ways)

The two hand-to-hand combatants take out their scrolls and configure them to display each other's aura levels, displaying the information on holo-screens overhead, similar to the ones in the amphitheater. Just as Krom sheathes his scroll, Yang apparently sent a post that she's going to fight Krom head on. At least that's what the brunet thinks, because the next he notices is that almost the entire campus rushes into the training hall, RWBY and JNPR included. The two step onto a fighting arena the gym. The crowd surrounds the arena from the bleachers, with their scrolls out and aimed at them.

Ruby panics that Yang has just woken up, but Yang insists that she needs this. Krom tosses his utility belt at Jaune and sets his shield to the side of the arena. "Watch that and don't mess with it. Got it?" he says. The leader of JNPR nods and the boy in blue and grey walls toward the center.

Yang also takes her position, and both fighters in the center, about 10 feet apart from each other.

"Remember, Krom, we can't use any of our weapons unless of us breaks that rule. At which point, I can use my gauntlets and you can use your shield."

"Fine by me."

Acknowledging the conditions they've set, the two then enter their own battle sta-

"Wait!" someone says.

The entire room looks towards the speaker who just killed the hype to see Cardin Winchester with his hands up.

"What do you want, Cardin!?" someone else shouts.

Cardin, now more nervous than ever, slowly walks over to the sound booth, where the rest of CRDL is inserting something into the system.

"I-I just thought that we could put on some music." he stutters. "Y-you know, to set the mood and all."

"Don't play it until it starts!" someone else says, making the hype come back again.

Anyways, the two then enter their own battle stances and the crowd suddenly calms down to a silence.

Yang is starting off with her right fist drawn backwards and her left fist at the same height as her diaphragm.

Krom has his right arm ready while his left arm is positioned to face Yang, as though gesturing that he's holding his shield.

Regardless of their hand positions, both have themselves in a brawler's fighting stance. Feet firmly planted, balance is in check, and both have their sights set on their opponent. Neither are smiling. Neither are distracted. And neither one is going to hold back. Or are they? Well, they actually are.

The lighting rearranges to have the light only on the arena. It was designed to do that. To give the fighters the sense that it's just them, alone in the arena.

_Red sun_

_Red sun over paradise_

_Red sun_

_Red sun over paradise_

"_Fitting._" Krom thinks, recognising the music.

**Que: [Red Sun- MGR: Revengeance]**

The electric guitars strum… and the fight begins!

Yang uses her best jabs while Krom is avoiding and deflecting them. At first the blonde thinks she has already got Krom on the line, but he notices that Yang is getting a wee bit tired and starts to see holes in her technique. So he uses this to his advantage and trips Yang onto her back.

"Is anger the only emotion you feel in battle?" he asks, avoiding more of her hits.

Yang springs back up and replies. "Of course not! I sometimes give my victims a little wink before I drive them into the ground!"

"Charming."

Krom continues to take advantage of Yang's inconsistencies, this time with him going on the offensive. The anger builds up in Yang just as fast as the damage she's taking. And then, with one punch, she throws it all back at Krom, pushing him all the way to the edge of the arena. Recalling that this is Yang's thing, Krom decides to use one of his own powers.

Yang smiles and thinks that she has got Krom on the ropes, but as she tries to throw a barrage of punches, he constantly avoids each hit like she's trying to hit air. This little scene immediately ends as Krom gives Yang a punch in the stomach. This makes YAng angry, as her eyes suddenly turn red, her hair is set ablaze, and Ember Celica morphs into its gauntlet form. She runs up to punch Krom in the face, like she did Junior. But Krom sees this coming and swiftly moves around Yang, avoiding the attack completely. Krom sees that Yang has broken their only restriction, so he runs for Obdurator at the edge of the arena, only for Yang to rocket past him and grab the shield before he could.

"Can't really do much without your trashcan lid, can you?" Yang taunts.

But Krom holds his left hand out to his shield. "Did you say, **trashcan lid**!?"

Yang laughs at Krom's begging gesture, when suddenly Krom runs up, kicks Yang in the head, and takes his shield back with minimal effort. Krom steps back to put his shield on, but Yang doesn't waste a second as she runs up and discharges attacks on Krom, who is hiding behind his shield and taking it all.

"You freakin' turtle!" she yells.

Yang continues to attack Krom, who in turn is using Yang's anger to his advantage and starts to beat her down. The rage starts to build up more as Yang is getting her butt handed to her by a simpleton with a shield, who just then throws her on the ground. She looks up at her opponent, who is hardly breaking a sweat, let alone gritting his teeth.

"How the hell are you doing that!?" she asks demandingly.

"Let's just say you're a bit predictable." he answers, and slams his shield's face into her lower abdomen.

Yang is flung back yet again and Krom follows up with, "Sorry. I meant very predictable!"

The Krom backs away and lets Yang try and stand up. But before she could balance herself, she sees a strand of blonde hair feather fall downwards and land on the floor. This could only mean one thing, as Yang stands back up and lets the fire around her as though she has merged with a phoenix (or something like that).

The entire crowd sees this as Krom's own death wish, but the shield fighter simply closes his eyes, calming down, and activating another power he has. Upon opening them, Krom's eyes show up as light and blue as a Schnee's eyes, and shows a more calm and focused mindset. A polar opposite of Yang's eye color.

"I'LL END YOU!" Yang screams as she charges to punch Krom in the head, again, only to get bashed in the face and get knocked clear across the arena, landing inches from the bleachers.

The entire audience looks in shock as the dude with the shield only lost a small chip of his aura while obliterating Yang at her near highest. Krom stands firmly and looks at the blonde he just defeated, when the lights return to normal and Glynda Goodwitch steps onto the grounds.

"And that's the match." she says, prompting Krom to sheathe his shield. "My goodness… young man. I don't believe I've seen you in the records. What is your name?"

Krom looks confused at the professor's question, until he recalls that only Ozpin knows he's staying here.

"Please, Glynda." Ozpin says, stepping into the arena. "I'll present you to this boy another time."

Krom nods and retrieves his utility belt from Jaune while Ms. Goodwitch is wondering who this kid is.

"The match is over. You are dismissed." Ozpin says as Krom walks back to his room.

* * *

Yang lays battered in team RWBY's room with the other 3 girls looking down at her in pity. But as always, there is that one who has to get irritated.

"You blockhead!" Weiss screams. "What were you thinking?! Trying to take on the one who beat you just last night!?"

"Well…" Yang moans. "Technically, he didn't 'beat me' that time."

"Yeah, well he really beat you now." Blake says.

As the three others keep chatting about Yang's hot-bloodedness against Krom, Ruby starts to wonder more about Krom as a person. Who exactly is Krom? Where did he come from? Where did he learn to fight like that? Why doesn't he ever smile?

With all of these questions in mind, Ruby suggests."Girls, maybe should we try to know Krom?"

All of team RWBY looks confused as Ruby of all people would say something like that.

"What?" Weiss blurts out.

"Well, Weiss does want to know more about contestants, and he seems pretty alone. So why not be friends with him?"

Yang, now recovered enough, sits up on her bed and looks at her little sister. She starts to process why Ruby would be the one to suggest that, until she remembers Ruby saying that she and Jaune were the first two to meet Krom. With that thought fresh in her head, Yang puts two and two together, and thinks that Ruby might've picked something up.

"Ruby, are you suggesting that Red and Blue should go together?"

Weiss and Blake grow wide-eyed and look at Ruby, who's confused and looking right back. She thinks about Yang's statement for a bit, before going as red as her cloak.

"Eeehhh!? N-no! I-I just think that he's a little lonely and no one really goes to see him."

"So you do think that Red and Blue should-"

"No, I DON'T!"

As Ruby is trying to defend herself from her sister's nagging, Blake takes the time to think about Krom some more. He didn't seem like the one to talk, making him almost as quiet as herself or Ren. His fighting style reminded her a bit of Pyrrha, Sun, and Yang. He avoided all of Yang's attacks in a fashion similar to herself. And if he didn't dodge, that shield took the hit without budging. Now Blake is becoming as curious as Ruby.

"Now that you put it that way, I think It would be a good idea to see him." she says.

The other girls stop and look at Blake. And Yang asks, "About red and Blue?"

"No, about knowing Krom more." Blake replies.

* * *

Over in the boxing gym, Krom continues to throw punches at the sandbags while breaking pretty pricey equipment. The sensation of fighting someone like Yang, it had brought back a few things, like the time he took down a small squad of White Fang members. While Krom ponders this and breaks things, Ozpin walks in with his scroll, coffee, and cane as usual.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to restock this gym?" he asks the young warrior.

Krom just breaks another sandbag before looking back at Ozpin.

"All equipment is to be broken into, new and old." he says. "From what I can tell, i think they've been broken way too easily."

"I'll consider that as a suggestion." the professor replies, and walks out of the gym.

Thinking that he's done enough in the punching department, Krom leaps onto the overhang and starts to do sit ups while hanging by his knees. He reaches about 20 before he spots a black haired girl wearing a bow of the same color on the top of her head. A few steps behind her is the red clad reaper he met before. Krom expected the blonde brawler and the white heiress, but they aren't there. Guess Blake and Ruby have decided to see him.

"Are you two here for some sort of amusement?" Krom asks the two girls.

Blake shakes her head. "Ruby said you don't get many visitors." she said.

"Makes sense. Only Ozpin knows that I'm actually staying here." he replies before continuing his exercise.

"Are you usually like this?" Ruby asks.

"Quite correct." Krom answers. "And if I'm not in here, then I'd be in the room I was given drawing whatever it is that comes to mind."

"Huh. Drawing. At least it's apparent Krom isn't restricted to a life of combat." Ruby thinks, before continuing. "What's the meaning behind 'Krom'? Is that your real name, or a nickname?"

Krom leaps off the beam and lands in front of the two girls. "Is it an interview you seek, Rose?"

The two girls grow intimidated by the boy getting in their face like that. As Ruby starts to deduce leaving on the spot, Blake speaks up to regain her composure.

"Krom, do you know about the White Fang?"

Krom steps away from the girls and pulls out a sketchbook from a laptop bag he brought along. He the flips to a particular page and shows it to Blake and Ruby. The image is entirely in adept-level pencil sketch, displaying Krom in his usual combat suit, taking Obdurator and blocking a swing from a trenchcoated swordsman's katana. Ruby just thinks it looks cool, but the opponent's spiky hair, menacing mask, and dark colored katana catches Blake's attention.

"So you recognise the man I'm fighting here?" Krom asks the cat faunus.

Blake says nothing, as she thinks that revealing her history and heritage to Krom would make him mark her as hostile. Seeing this slight distress in the black cat, Krom decides not to push and puts the sketchbook away.

"I'll ask you again: are you here for an interview, Rose?" he asks.

Ruby looks at Blake, who best answer was a shrug to the little huntress. After scoffing her teammate in response, Ruby looks at Krom with a bit of determination.

"Yes, Krom. I do seek to ask you some questions." she says.

Krom looks at her, then picks up his wares and walks past Ruby.

"Some other time, Rose. Now right now isn't a good time." Krom says, before going to the simulation hangar.

* * *

Blake and Ruby promptly leave the gym as well, returning to their dorm to share what they've learned. Though the pair is surprised to see Jaune and Ren sitting in the room, chatting about life and things that are happening with Weiss and Yang, who is able to sit up straight no problem.

"Oh, sis!" Yang greets. "Did you and Blake find anything out from him?"

"Ah, not much." Ruby answers.

Then Blake adds in. "All we found out is that he practices daily, can draw things really well, and he has something to do with the White Fang."

"Gee." Weiss scowls. "Who doesn't have a grudge against them?"

"We all have our own reasons to dislike them." Jaune assures. "Maybe Krom has a long history with them."

Everyone looks at Blake because of her own background, but Blake shakes her head, saying that this seems different to her own. As Ruby attempts to agree, she feels something wedged between her waistbelt and her corset that shouldn't be there. Pulling the object out, she discovers a piece of paper that had another pencil sketch. It displayed a picture of a sword that was stabbed into the ground, with an assault rifle leaning on it and a blue trench coat tied to the handle. At the place where sword's tip and rifle butt met dirt, lay a rectangular patch with the numbers "117" on it. Ruby looks around the drawing more, only to see someone's silhouette walking into the background and away from the pseudo-monument. Ruby might not an expert in art and the many meanings they can hold, but she can tell that there is something serious involved in this picture. She recieves eyes from her fellow students, who manage to get a look at the drawing.

"117." Weiss reads. "Isn't that the number used for some legendary warrior or something?"

"No." Ren replies. "Anything can have '117' on it and not be affiliated with him."

"But what would the number '117' have to do with Krom?" Ruby asks, and everyone just shrugs.

* * *

Over in the simulation hangar, Krom is facing off with robots to let off steam. All of the training robots that have their appearances altered with holographic technology. Some of them look like the creatures of Grimm. Some of them look like members of the White Fang. Some of them look like soldiers of the Atlesian Army. Whichever they are, it doesn't matter to Krom, as he decimates wave after wave of these training dummies. And like any good gamer out there would understand: playing against a computer is nothing like fighting a live opponent.

Not a single punch fully lands on him. And if it does, it doesn't do much. With each kill, fall, and knockout, the holographs disappear from the victims of Krom's beating to reveal the old Atlesian drones underneath them.

Krom throws his shield, letting it bounce off of multiple enemies and bashing them apart. Krom rips a drone in half and uses its remains as a pair of flails. The shield returns to him and Krom continues to rip and tear and smash any training dummy that comes at him.

Suddenly, the simulation ends with Krom sending his fist through one of the drones. All of the holo-skins disappear from the drones that aren't destroyed as they return to their loading bays.

"Krom, I thought I told you not to go destroying everything." Ozpin said at the control panel.

"You didn't tell me anything." Krom shot back. "You asked, and I said that things need to be broken into."

Ozpin sighs as he walks onto the battle zone, with his black decorated scroll in tablet form.

"And again, I'll consider it. Perhaps a 'harvest tour' through Forever Fall would give you something to do."

"I'm not interested in what Peach has in mind. Would an assignment be too hard to ask for?"

Ozpin sighs yet again and shows Krom his scroll, which is displaying a profile on Jaune Arc.

"What's this for?" Krom asks the grey haired professor.

"This, 'son', is the profile of a student who faked his way into entering a huntsman academy."

Krom wonders for a moment why Ozpin is showing him a profile on Jaune Arc. If what Ozpin says is true, then his next course of action is obvious.

"What do you want me to do to him, Ozpin? Apprehend him?"

"No. Train him."

The blue clad warrior looks confused and starts to become agitated.

"You've just implied that Jaune Arc entered this academy illegally! Why should I try to help him!?"

"Because you have nothing better to do than to work out in the gym and draw on your worn out sketch book."

Krom continues to get angry, but then remembers someone else who did the same for him. He doesn't quite remember how it happened, but he remembers a cat faunus with pale-blue hair helping him at some point. Was it with combat? Was it with his psychology? He doesn't remember, but this makes him calm down a bit as his anger left and his stance eased.

"And besides." Ozpin continues. "I you weren't so uptight, would you agree?"

This struck Krom hard. His friend in black definately would agree with Professor Ozpin. This sort of shamed the warrior, who lowered his head and started to walk out of the simulation hangar

"You're a warrior, Krom. Not a soldier." Ozpin says as Krom leaves.

* * *

**Not a bad change, huh? But yeah, I did talk to other authors before finishing this chapter. With progress being this delayed for more effectiveness, the next chapter will come out when it comes out. So stay tuned for chapter 8.**


	8. Project Yeoman

**I just got back from preparing for my senior year in high school and watching Markiplier play the Stanley Parable. And after doing both of those, it got me thinking about how I should be writing this story, or if I should be writing it at all and should forget it also. Well, if you are reading this right now, then you should have already assumed that the second thought is not the one I've chosen to stick to.**

**Seeing that this needs progression, I just thought that we would take our focus off of Krom for the moment and start to emphasise on the other main characters. As most good writers and stories taught me, I shouldn't just develop one person alone, because everyone has to grow somehow.**

**How will this go down? Well, let's answer that question with a BANG. Or in this case, a-**

* * *

Chapter 8: Operation Yeoman

*CLANG*

Red and blonde hair clash their straight blades atop the roof they train on. The shattered moon looms high in the night sky as the champion is teaching her partner and improving his skill. The two continue to strike with their weapons, the knight is showing more improvement his swordsmanship. Of course, he still isn't able to overpower his partner/teacher as she spins around and breaks through his guard.

This happens pretty much every time they practice together. They spar. Pyrrha wins. She helps him up and tells him how much he's improving. They talk for a bit, and then return to their team's dorm room and go to sleep. But tonight, things are going to be a tad bit different.

"You're improving as always, Jaune." Pyrrha says, helping her leader onto his feet.

"Guess I am." Jaune says, lowering his head.

"Is something wrong, Jaune?" Pyrrha asks.

"Oh nothing, Pyrrha." Jaune responds. "I guess I'm going to need some peace and quiet. That's all."

"Okay… as long as it's nothing serious." But that gets interrupted by Jaune walking ahead of her and back into the building. Pyrrha stood confused at what Jaune is doing walking ahead of her. She tries to tail him back to their dorm room, but when she get there she sees that only Nora and Ren are asleep in their beds, and Jaune is nowhere to be seen.

Well, as one would imagine, Jaune is walking about the grounds of Beacon Academy beneath the night sky and trying his best to not worry much. Though there isn't much for him to worry about in the first place, his fear that others will know his secret still lingers within his thoughts. If they did find out about his forgery, would the authorities come for him, or would he be subject to a juvenile hall or something!? Nah, that last assumption is just an overreaction. But to those who know Jaune well, every time a thought weighs down on his mind, it weighs down hard.

And this becomes apparent when Jaune decides to sit down by that fountain in the avenue. As Jaune looks up at into the night, starry sky, what appears to be a shooting star is soaring through the night sky, so he quickly tries to make a wish. What does Jaune wish for? Well, being the only male Arc of his generation, he says,

"I wish I can be a good huntsman."

Suddenly, the shooting star arcs around like a UFO and flies into the roof of the training hall, without a crash to be heard. Seeing that it is definitely strange for a star to do that, the leader of team JNPR gives into his curiosity and goes to see where the star had landed.

As he approaches the entrance to the training hall, a whoosh sounds from the roof and Jaune sees the shooting star take flight again through the starry sky. Now this is really getting interesting as Jaune proceeds through the building. Eventually, after going past vacant rooms and empty hallways, he reaches the the roof to see Krom standing by the edge of the building.

The white stripes and pentagon on his upper body glow in the moonlight, and his body posed as though he had just thrown something. Jaune looks toward what Krom just threw to see the shooting star flying away from him at an upward angle. The weird thing here is the fact that from this perspective, the star now looks like a glowing, blueish-white disk. Steadily, the disk turns around and flies back towards Krom, who catches it effortlessly with one hand. The disk turns out to be his Obdurator shield, with the metal in a polish and seems to glow under the moonlight.

"You know, you could just come over here and tell why you're here." Krom said to the blonde knight who's looking at him from a few feet away.

Jaune nervously moves towards Krom with his focus set on Krom's blue-silvery shield glistening in the moonlight. But just as he gets close, Krom throws Obdurator again, letting it sail across the starry night.

"Why did you wish to be your own person?" Krom asks the team leader.

Jaune becomes embarrassed at his act a few minutes ago.

"Oh that?" he says. "Well, I just thought your shield was an actual shooting star and I just started believing it and started to wish-"

"Okay, wrong question." Krom cuts him off. "What did you mean when you said: I wish I can be a good huntsman?"

Jaune becomes awestruck by Krom's straightforwardness and tries to answer the question. He has thought about it and has talked to Pyrrha about the matter, but in terms of explaining it, he hasn't gotten farther than explaining the legacy of his ancestors. Going a bit more in depth in that would make the boy who hardly smiles sort of accept him, he guesses.

"Well, as an Arc, I am the latest descendant from a long line of heroes, all of which use this sword I have here."

"I've heard of the lineage, Jaune. And I honestly respect that." Krom responds, and looks at Jaune's weapon, sheathed at his left hip. "Though you say it as though it's going to lead to embarrassment."

"Yeah, because the pressure of having to fulfill that legacy has had me stressed about being a huntsman in the first place."

Krom raises an eyebrow. "How is that embarrassing?"

Jaune pauses. "Um, let me rephrase that…"

"You're implying that the lineage is something to be stressed over. You were probably so desperate to become a hero that you've had to fake your way into Beacon Academy regardless of your combat ability at the time."

Jaune cringes at that comment.

"Ozpin told me about your methods, history, and intentions, Arc." Krom says, "And I he also explained why he let you stay."

This brings reassurance to Jaune as he lets out his breath and starts to respirate properly. The Obdurator shield flies back to them and Krom catches it once again.

"From what I've faced, Jaune, I'll tell you this: no one becomes a hero if they themselves are lost." he says, throwing the shield again.

The two warriors look out into the night sky, taking the calm and peace that came with seeing the stars like this.

"From other things people said about you, you have a family that drives you, Arc." Krom adds.

Jaune smiles at that comment, though that also raises a question of his.

He turns to Krom and asks, "Why do you say that?"

"That's a story for another time. For right now, shouldn't you be going back to your dorm? You wouldn't want to worry your team members, would you?"

"Right. Well, goodnight, Krom." Jaune exits, and heads back into the .

Krom watches as Jaune calmly walks to the dormitories, and he starts to think: "Will this actually help?"

* * *

The next day goes normally for Jaune as he goes he goes to his classes and hangs out with friends. He continues to think back to his talk with Krom, and of the mysteries that the boy in blue and grey has. Not wanting to think too much of it, Jaune disregarded this concept and started to think about his progress as a huntsman-in-training.

Ever since that day at Forever Fall last year, he has been seeking help from Pyrrha and has been getting better. He still remembered that one night after team RWBY had left for Mountain Glenn, when Ruby sent him a wave of static on his scroll. He felt worried for his little red friend that night, wondering if what he had just received was a distress call. His worries were confirmed as the residents of Beacon were sent to downtown Vale to plug a breach. Jaune felt proud of that time he defeated a second Ursa Major by himself. After that, nothing else. Back to their usual days with more exchanges students, strange guests, and weird events happening since.

But Jaune's line of thought gets interrupted as he receives a message on his scroll. Opening it up, he sees that the text is from Professor Ozpin.

"Mr. Arc, come see me at my office, for I have something to discuss with you. It's about your business in the school." it says.

Jaune cringes upon reading this. Could they have found out? Is he going to be sent away!? The blonde knight slightly assures himself upon remembering what Krom told him, about him deserving to be here. With that in mind, Jaune walks to the Beacon Tower while sweating beads from nervousness.

But unknown to his own knowledge, he instinctively forwards the message to his fellow leader.

* * *

"Mr. Arc, do you know why I've called you here?" Ozpin asks from his cemshi glass table.

Jaune, still nervous as ever, stutters, "I-Is this about my business here in the school?"

Ozpin nods and taps on his scroll. Jaune doesn't know what that was about, but stands attention again as Ozpin talks again.

"Correct." he says. "I am aware of the situation, which is why-"

But Ozpin gets interrupted as Ruby Rose bursts into the office. If Professor Goodwitch was in the room right there and then, little red would receive detention for interrupting a meeting with the professor. But Ozpin has his hand the wheel, and he waits for the young one to talk instead. Surely Ruby has a legitimate reason to barge in like this, right?

Ruby immediately runs up and pleads, "Professor! Please! Don't send Jaune away! He has proven to be a great leader and is becoming a better fighter and-"

But Ozpin holds his hand up to calm the little girl. "I'm aware that Jaune has committed forgery to enter this academy." he says, making her and Jaune cringe at Ozpin's discovery. "But that's not our focus here. In fact, Ms. Rose, you may need this too."

Ruby expresses a mix of nervousness and confusion upon hearing the news. Then at that moment, Krom walks into the room and approaches Ozpin.

"Sir, is there something you wish to discuss with me?" he asks the headmaster of Beacon.

"Indeed, young 'captain'." Ozpin replies, making Krom wince a little. "And your timing could not have been any better."

The headmaster gestures for Krom to stand next to him as he starts to explain his plan to the two leaders.

"Mr. Arc, I am completely aware of your progress in my school, which is why I called you here for a proposal. But now that you've happened to have brought along Miss Rose, it would be fitting if she was part of my contract."

The two stand confused at what Ozpin is offering. Hopefully it'll involve a bit of a Special Ed. program to make the stress on Jaune less stressful. But what our blonde knight has been offered, is something very different.

"Tell me, how well you know Krom over here?" Ozpin asks, gesturing to the Filipino-looking guy on his right side.

Jaune and Ruby both look at Krom before starting to get a shaky feeling upon looking at him. But upon closer inspection, so was he as he looked at Professor Ozpin. Ozpin looks at Krom as well, who nods his head before leaving the office.

"Jaune Arc. Ruby Rose." Ozpin starts. "As productive as your efforts have been, I'm still getting reports of suboptimal performances in the field."

"But Ozpin!" Ruby says in her little girl voice. "I have been a great fighter since I've got to use my sweetheart!"

"While that is true when working alone, Miss Rose, your teamwork still needs improvement."

"But my leadership skills have helped my team destroy a super mech!"

Ozpin luckily doesn't choke on his coffee when he heard that.

"Be glad that the General didn't hear you say that." Ozpin says, making Ruby slightly anxious.

"On the other hand, Mr. Arc. Your combat are showing some improvement, but is dwarfed by your natural ability to lead."

"Uh, sir?" The blonde knight says. "I would like to point out that I was actually training with Pyrrha for the past semester. That's why I've been getting better at fighting."

"While that may be so, Jaune." Ozpin says back. "It seems that only you are benefiting from that."

He stands up and walks toward the two leaders.

"Anyway, Ruby has high fighting ability, but low leadership. Jaune is sort of the opposite: low fighting ability but high leadership. I was wondering if you two have been training each other in your weaker fields. Are you?"

Jaune and Ruby try to make sense of Ozpin's reasoning, but fail and realize that all they've been doing together is hang out and talk about things that RWBY and JNPR can do together.

"N-no, sir." Jaune says as they droop their heads.

"Thought so, which is why I have also summoned Krom here."

The boy in blue and grey looks puzzled at what Ozpin just said.

"Uh… sir?" he asks. "Just what are you implying?"

"Simple, Krom. You will be assisting these two as sort of a… student tutor, so to speak."

Krom just looked at the professor, not knowing how to respond, or is seemingly predicting how this would play out. Jaune and Ruby nervously look at the teen and the professor as they enter a sort of staring contest. After a good minute of looking into Ozpin's eyes, Krom sighs and gives a slow nod.

"*sigh*. Fine." He says.

"Good." Ozpin replies, when Jaune raises his hand.

"Sir, why are you doing this?"

Ozpin sighs as he sets his coffee mug on the desk. "I've been looking at all of your skills, and thought that all three of you could each other in something."

The last part of that statement confused the teens in the room.

"Uh, sir, Krom has been seen beating Yang on two occasions and engages in rigorous exercise, possibly every day. What could he possibly need help in."

Ozpin smiles as he stands up from his chair. "That's for you two to discover."

Krom raises an eyebrow and Jaune and Ruby look even more confused.

"It is called Project Yeoman." He states, waving off Krom to join Jaune and Ruby.

"As of right now, the three of you are to work together. You are not to disable each other, nor are you to abandon each other. You two are to meet after classes have passed and train each other wherever necessary. If there happens to be a time when your teams are to fight Krom, you two are to not participate. I will send Glynda a notification, should this occur. Also, because of Krom's partial anonymity, he will not be joining you two for class lectures and assignments unless he chooses to assist you. Jaune, Ruby, try not to do anything that may make Krom want to hurt you badly. And Krom, do take it lightly on these two, for they don't know you that well."

Seeing the restrictions, Krom asks, "When will this contract expire?"

"When I see that you have improved in your lower fields." Ozpin says. "It is currently 3:14. I suggest you start teaching soon. You three are dismissed."

And with that, Krom, Jaune, and Ruby all walk to the elevator and go down the tower. Ozpin watches as the elevator doors close with the "three" leaders inside. He then opens a picture on his scroll, displaying a picture of a young Filipino looking kid, with brown eyes.

* * *

Red, white, and blue walk out of the base of Beacon Tower. Ruby is sort of excited and sort of nervous, Jaune is very anxious, and Krom's eyebrow is twitching in irritation. Neither of them don't really know how to start this training contract they've been forced to sign up for.

"So, what do we do now?" Ruby asks the other boys.

"Didn't you hear him?" Krom shoots out. "He said we are to start our training soon."

"I thought he 'suggested' that we start soon." Jaune replies.

Krom gives the two official students a glare, making them shake. He then lowers his head. "True, which is why I say we start now."

Jaune and Ruby both nod hesitantly as Krom is already showing more of himself, and it doesn't look friendly. With that, Krom snaps in the direction of the training halls with Jaune and Ruby stumbling behind.

* * *

"Ozpin, are you sure about this?" Miss Goodwitch asks her coworker.

"All three of them need this." he assures her.

"Look, I don't know of that boy's past, but after witnessing him beating Miss Xiao Long easily, I'm wondering if he even needs help."

Ozpin looks sternly back at Glynda, as though she might've struck something. "He **does** need it, and I'll show you why."

He then pulls out his scroll, sets it to tablet, and shows Glynda something. She looks at the information being presented, and her eyes slowly start to widen. The shock, the horror, the extreme realisation of this boy. Miss Goodwitch can't comprehend what she is seeing right now, but she guesses what he's trying to explain.

"S-s-soo…" she stutters, still in shock. "H-he, he is-"

Ozpin puts the scroll away and leaves her with, "-a man out of time."

* * *

**Hey, everyone. I've finally finished chapter 8, even after going to Strategicon 2015 and partaking in the Pathfinder Society's adventures. That, and winning my first Super Smash Bros G4 tournament. I say G4 for 4th Generation because it seems offset just to call it SSB for Wii U or SSB for 3DS.**

**That being said, I will be doing some chemistry homework and will get started on chapter 9 as soon as possible. Please, stay tuned.**


	9. A Minor's Setback

**Well hello, audience! I just sort of got back from a senior pool party early because it wasn't that exciting and I forgot my swimming gear. And my chemistry homework is done, so on with this!**

**It's Rosh Hashanah today, and that means there is no school for today. And that also means there is time for me to keep working on this. Now, warning, this is chapter is going to feature some material that would make you think I have a sick imagination. But please understand that this and the chapter after this was written to progress Krom and answer that one question no one bothered to ask: what is Krom's real name?**

**Anyway, this is chapter 9 of Scythes, Swords, and Shields.**

* * *

Chapter 9: A Minor's Setback

The next morning looks normal for the 8 students. Pyrrha is eating oatmeal, Weiss is eating her apple, Blake is reading her book, Nora is talking about her dream, Ren translates for her, and Yang is listening to all of this. When just then, a pair of gloomy students walk in and the other 6 look in surprise. Jaune and Ruby both enter the cafeteria with sore bodies, drowsiness, and high exhaustion apparent in the form of redness and bags under their eyes. As they slouch in their usual seats with their teams, their teammates kept wondering why their leaders looked like they just came back from a lock-in.

"Gee, were our two leaders hanging out for too long?" Yang teased.

Jaune and Ruby just look at Yang for a few seconds before slouching over the table.

"I was honestly worried about you, Jaune." Pyrrha commented. "And to think that Ruby is involved-"

"...and Krom…" Jaune mumbles

"...and Krom. Wait, who's Krom?"

"The blue boy who beat Yang on two occasions." Nora answers.

"Actually, he and I agreed that he won once." Yang adds.

That gave Pyrrha the right idea. "So, anyway, what did Krom do that made you like this?"

The two leaders didn't respond, or rather they didn't want to respond. Luckily, Blake had the right idea about giving Ruby her coffee with cream and 5 sugars. After downing the entire mug, Ruby felt a bit more awake while Jaune remains exhausted.

"You guys really want to know about what the three of us did last night?" Ruby asks, to which everyone else nods.

"Well…"

* * *

16 hours ago…

...Jaune and Ruby weren't sure if Ozpin was concrete when he told Krom to "take it easy" on them, because as soon as they entered the training hall yesterday at 7:40, the first thing Krom was pounded them down like he was playing extreme whack-a-mole with a steel sledge hammer. The first to get tutored was Ruby.

"Rose, that's the 5th time you made that mistake!" Krom yelled.

He and Ruby were playing chess and as mentioned, Ruby kept misplacing her rook, allowing Krom to capture it without resistance.

"S-sorry, Krom. I just lost focus." Ruby whimpered.

"Are you sure?" Krom pressed on, holding up the stolen rook. "Are you unaware of the value of a single soldier?"

"N-no, I'm not!" Ruby argued. "I just didn't think that you would take it straight away."

Krom facepalmed before setting the rook down.

"Mapping and predicting are both essential to strategy." he said.

Then Krom shoved a book on tactics to Ruby.

"In the corner, read it, 20 minutes, then try again."

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

This was Ruby Rose's tactics training.

"Uh… Krom? Should I be getting some… strategy training... as well?" Jaune asked between pants and after sweating profusely on the floor.

"I was told of your strategy skills, Arc." Krom said. "But it's your combat that requires improvement."

"O-oh! Um, okay." Jaune stuttered. "Then what do we do now?"

"Let's test your striking power." Krom said.

"Yeah! You got this Jaune!" Ruby cheered from a distance.

Krom then yelled, "Ruby! It's been 35 seconds! READ!" And then Ruby nervously went back to reading.

These three have been going on for a good 2 hours, and only Jaune and Ruby feel that they're the only ones doing any training among the three of them. Of course, they feel that Krom has nothing to improve on. But if Ozpin said that there is something Krom needs help with, then what is it?

Krom puts his shield on his back and puts his hand out a few feet from Jaune.

"Take your sword and swing downward onto my hand." he instructed.

"What!?" Jaune said, shocked. "Krom, I'm not going to-"

"Do it." the blue boy said annoyed.

Jaune gave a small shrug before accepting his challenge. Being fatigued, Jaune's grip on Crocea Mors looked shaky. He swung down the sword onto Krom's hand, who caught the sword by gripping its fuller with his fingers.

"Hmm." the trainer said. "No wonder you defeated that one Ursa."

"R-really?" Jaune brightened up.

But Krom just looked at him. "I was talking about the sword's edge, not your strike."

This shot down Jaune's enthusiasm. "Oh… so I still need to work on my physical strength?"

"Yep. Down and give me 20!"

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

This was Jaune Arc's combat training.

This went on until 10:00, when the three of them went to sleep in their respective rooms.

* * *

"And that is how training went for the two of us." Ruby says plainly, with faces of aghast lining pretty much every face within the two teams, except for Jaune who has his face down on the table.

Then Blake tries to respond."So… you basically got training from an equivalent to an Atlesian drill sergeant."

"Sort of." Ruby answers before eating her pancakes.

"This is unacceptable!" Yang yells, letting her hair go ablaze. "He should be with the army and having wimpy soldiers do the pushups and situps!"

"Don't remind me…." Jaune groans, recalling that he was that wimpy soldier.

"In any case, we should teach that boy scout a lesson!"

Ren replies to Yang, "But Yang, wouldn't he beat you again?"

The brawler's fire calmed down a bit, or rather, they died when recalling that. "Oh shoot, you're right."

Everyone else got Yang's idea straight away, and the idea of all of them taking on Krom seemed unbalanced.

Then, Weiss gave a suggestion. "Well, if the issue is that Ruby and Jaune are facing abuse, shouldn't we consult this with Professor Ozpin?"

The entire group looked at the heiress. Of course she would say something like that. But that would have to wait as everyone has to get to class, and for Jaune to get some coffee of his own.

* * *

Being as tired as they are, Jaune and Ruby sit next to each other and have their heads down. Yang honestly wanted to take a picture of this, before getting stopped by Weiss and Pyrrha for "personal reasons."

"Does anyone know about the conflict known as the Arid Sandbox?" Oobleck asks the class.

Everyone sat silent and unsure of how to answer that. It's not like anyone is supposed to know about the history of Remnant before taking a class on the history of Remnant. Right? Well, being the "bad boy" he tries to be, Cardin Winchester answers:

"It was a war between midgets." and the class laughed at that.

But this event seems dire because Oobleck becomes outraged at Cardin's humor and slams his coffee mug on the table, shattering it.

"You are gravely incorrect, Mr. Winchester!" he yells. "That fight went down in history for its atrocities against a minority group that's not the faunus!"

The whole class stops laughing and hastily return to their normal position. With normal being a scared and anxious state. Jaune, being as brave as he can, raised his hand. Dr. Oobleck reaches over to his desk and pulls out another mug before calling on Jaune.

"W-what is the Arid Sandbox known for that's so serious?" he asks.

"Why, Mr. Arc, it was one of the first conflicts to feature an illegal practice in the armed forces called…"

Dr. Oobleck pauses. The whole class leans in to listen closely.

"...child soldiers."

The entire class freaks at the idea of that, with Yang and Pyrrha being the first to respond to the concept.

"Good Monty, Cardin! First faunus and now children!? Just how heartless are you!?" Yang yells, making the captain of CRDL tries to hide from the class by going under his desk.

Pyrrha restates the topic. "That's insane! Children being forced to fight a war!?"

"Quite right, Miss Nikos. 10 years ago, approximately 1,000 children were forced to fight in a war in a desert landscape. While the winning side hasn't really been recorded, all that was stated was that a mere 250 children survived the fight.

The room gasps at how horrifying it was for those children to even live anymore.

"Now I'm sure you all know of the many violations, threats, and the ethical issues this pushes on a child's wellbeing."

"B-but wouldn't this be a faunus issue?" Russell asks.

"You'd be surprised, Mister Thrush. This isn't just a faunus issue at all. This extends out to all children in general." Oobleck sips his coffee. "Children who are poor, displaced from their families, have limited access to education, or live in a combat zone are more likely to be forcibly recruited."

Ren raises his hand. "So it's only an occurrence in poorer provinces?"

"Not correct, Mr. Ren. This issue can occur in any place that has an army. The kids that were recruited were under 10 and had to face training you'd normally see in an Atlas Army. Once that is completed, the children are sent to fight in a variety of wars under a militant power."

"It must've been hard for those kids." Blake comments.

"Indeed, Miss Belladonna. Child soldiers may serve as porters or cooks, guards, messengers or spies. Many are pressed into combat, where they may be forced to the front lines or sent into minefields ahead of older troops. Some children have been used for suicide missions. These kids have been forced to work for an army that promises education, payment, and purpose. Within a 5 year period, around 7,000 to 10,000 children under 15 serving in combat. Mind you that this only happened around 4 years ago, when minimum age recruitment requirements had no limits. Nowadays, the minimum requirement is 18."

"What happened after those 4 years?" Weiss asks.

"Who knows? Dismemberment? Set free? Used for labor? Homeless? All I've been told is that not a single child soldier from that program still lives to this day."

The entire classroom becomes shocked at the news. Most certainly, they feel more devastated than relieved that the kids of Project Young Arms have all been exterminated. Some

Blake raises her hand. "Um, Professor?"

"Doctor, Miss Belladonna." he corrects.

"...Doctor, suppose these kids were still alive. Where would they go from there?"

"Oh, Blake. These have seen nothing but war and destruction for most of their lives. If they tried to return to society, they would be orphaned or abused for their experiences and unstable behavior. They have been in combat for so long that there is no place for them in society."

The sorrow sweeps through the room as many of the students

"Uh, sir?" Ren raises his hand. "Why are we going over this?"

"It's just part of the curriculum, for some reason." Oobleck refills his coffee mug. "Now, let's go over the Arid Sandbox, itself. Local records say that there were two sides to this fight, with a whole 1,000 children involved. One of these sides had access to a prototype spider drone from Atlas. But that same drone turned rogue and destroyed every kid that got in its way."

"Why was the event called the Arid Sandbox?"

"The kids were basically in an enclosed space and had to deal with the drone in order to live. Realising that these children were only ages 5-10, their most likely response to a large, murderous robot would be to panic, cry, or run away. As a result, of the thousands of kids who were in that conflict, 250 survived."

The terror strikes the class even harder. They didn't know what to think about this whole concept. Jaune sat silent with his eyes wide open from this information. At least he didn't have to live that way, whatever it must've been like.

"You will have until friday to write a report on this conflict. There are credible sources that describe the incident as a conspiracy of sorts, or children playing with guns too big for them. Either way, you are dismissed.

* * *

"Those poor kids. It would be slightly reassuring if even one of those kids were still alive." Yang said to her partner.

"Even if they were alive, they'd be alone and broken beyond repair." Blake points out. "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is just one of the many things suffered through a traumatic experience. Considering that these kids were considered war veterans, that just increases the chances."

"So it would've been a bad thing whether or not they lived. Poor things." Pyrrha sympathised.

Weiss stuck up to regain her composure and speaks. "Well, now that that's out of the way, let's go talk to the Headmaster about Jaune and Ruby."

* * *

Nora, Ren, Yang, and Blake all decided not to come along as the other half go to the Beacon Tower to discuss the behavior of the leaders. When Weiss, Pyrrha, Jaune, and Ruby all appear in Ozpin's office, they see the headmaster himself looking through the security footage on his scroll. Hearing the four students, he looks at them in the elevator and greets them.

"I take it that it didn't go so well." Ozpin says.

"Correct, professor." Pyrrha says. "Our leaders state that they've been facing abusive training last night, by a boy named Krom."

"I know." Ozpin says, showing Nikos his scroll. "I saw, and I assume you two couldn't find out what Krom needed help in."

The two leaders look up at Ozpin and plainly say: "No."

"But seriously, sir." Pyrrha asks. "Why would this abusive drill sergeant, who is as old as most of us, be training two completely capable leaders!?"

"Because I told him to." Ozpin answers before sipping his coffee.

Pyrrha and Weiss both look shocked at what Ozpin just said, which is also when Ozpin explains to the two warriors their contract, from the conditions to the goals. He explains that these three have something that needs improvement, and they have each other to count on through this. The two girls try to argue with the fact that he's taking away from time they have with their partners, but Ozpin says that this is for all three of them.

"So, what did you go over in your classes today?" Ozpin says, while not avoiding the topic.

"Sir, are you trying to dodge the topic!?" Pyrrha slams her hand on the glass desk.

"That depends. Now what did you do in your classes?"

Weiss's spunk expression returns as she crosses her arms and glares at Ozpin, who just plainly looks back. "Hmph. Nothing much. Port's boring stories, Goodwitch's combat lessons, something called 'The Arid Sandbox' in Dr. Oobleck's class…"

That last bit made Ozpin clack his mug on his desk, making Weiss and Pyrrha pause suddenly.

"Is that so?" he says, then looks toward Ruby and Jaune who are struggling to stay awake.

"Tell me, you two. What did the doctor tell you about that incident?" he asked.

Pyrrha spoke first. "Well, he stated that-"

"Not you, Miss Nikos. Jaune! Ruby!"

"Yes sir?" the leaders look back as Ozpin gestures the two to come closer.

"What do you know about the Arid Sandbox?" Ozpin asks the two.

"Well…" Jaune yawns. "We were told that it was sort of a war among children. One of the sides gained access to a weapon that nearly killed both sides…"

"Is that so?" Ozpin says. "And do you all have a report due on this conflict?"

The 4 of them nod.

"Jaune. Ruby."

The two leaders look at him, and their partners look confused at what Ozpin is saying.

"Listen to me. Talk to Krom about this conflict."

This makes Jaune and Ruby jump awake.

"Wait, talk to him about it!?" Ruby says.

"Krom has… studied these things before. If you talk to him about the Arid Sandbox, I'm sure he would make his training more bearable, in order to help you with your reports."

Jaune and Ruby both are wondering if Ozpin is joking or not. To them, Krom is a cold hearted fighter who hardly smiles, can fight very well, thinks little of one's welfare, and is much more dense when compared to Weiss. If he is serious, then maybe they could get better. If not and he's joking, then it's obvious he's a sadist.

"Trust me. Perhaps you may be able to find that one thing he needs help with." Ozpin finishes.

Okay, now they really can't tell.

"Right…" Ruby trails. "Then, we should try to tell him about this incident."

Jaune adds, "But why would Krom be affected by the Arid Sandbox?"

"You'll see." Ozpin answers the two.

And with that, the leaders and their partners leave the office with some slight hope and a bit of knowledge about their new friend. Krom is a potential history enthusiast? Maybe he shouldn't be to hard to get along with.

But as soon as the four reach the base of the tower, they start a conversation about the Arid Sandbox. While Dr. Oobleck's history lesson was intriguing, there were so many unanswered questions about the incident itself. Why were the kids fighting? Where did they get that robot? If those kids really can fight, where did they learn to do that? Welp, it seems it's up to Jaune and Ruby to figure this out.

* * *

**After talking with Akio Blade, I couldn't really find a good way to bring out the backstory of Krom, or of his full name without bringing up a twisted, controversial, fanmade event in Remnant's history. It may seem really dumb, but at least it doesn't sound as ridiculous as having a vampire faunus, if that's even possible. Anyway, this chapter came pretty quickly, like less than a day. If there is some major issues with this, please point them out for me.**

**Thank you, and have a good rest of your day.**


	10. PTSD

**Hey guys, this is the Trigunner. So I've been trying to actually plan out this story via a google spreadsheet, and I've come up with a story that could last until some mind bending crossover-ish chapter involving an anime/graphic novel from 2012. And in case you guys are curious, shipping is involved in the plan.**

**Now, warning for this chapter, a main character gets a huge beating. Also, I'll be changing the rating on this.  
**

* * *

Chapter 10: PTSD

It's been about 10 minutes since Jaune and Ruby have come from their chat with Ozpin. They're still worried about would happen. Is he going to give them pointers on how to write the essay, or will he call the assignment a lame excuse to skip training? But whether the red and yellow pair is expecting crude assistance or corporal punishment, they just see Krom looking at his scroll and sitting at the two-person table with a chess board.

"Ozpin told me about an assignment you need help with." he says.

Jaune and Ruby give a sigh of relief as that makes things easier.

"Yes, Krom." Ruby answers. "We need help on this one thing."

"He didn't specify what exactly the assignment is, but maybe you could explain it over a game of chess."

Of course he would say that. "S-sure." Ruby says nervously before sitting across from Krom and taking the black legion.

Seeing that the two others are now occupied, Jaune just goes on with the routine Krom set, which involves some stretches and a bit of lifting.

A few minutes pass as Krom continues to score wins against Ruby, but he's noticing it's getting slightly harder to defeat the little red. Ruby is still bummed out that she still can't make Krom lose or slip up, but decides to sidetrack him with the assignment. Also, isn't Krom supposed to help her and Jaune?

"So…" Ruby starts. "Jaune and I have a paper due."

"When?" Krom asks, moving a knight up.

"Friday." Ruby says, moving a pawn up.

The conversation seems to be in Krom's favor, not Ruby's, because the next thing she notices her pawn gets taken by a white bishop.

"Dang it." Ruby curses, watching her pawn get moved to Krom's side of the table.

"So, what is the assignment about?" Krom asks as Ruby moves another pawn up.

"Nothing much, Krom." Ruby says, turning herself and looking away. "Just a little something from history called 'The Arid Sand Box'."

She hears the clack of one of Krom's pieces landing on the table, but the sound felt louder than usual.

"The… Arid Sandbox?" Krom stutters.

"Yeah. We learned it in Dr Oobleck's class just a few hours ago. Professor Ozpin said that you might know about it."

"I don't." The boy plainly replies.

Ruby looks confused. "What? But I thought Ozpin said that you need help with something!"

"Well I don't, Ruby." his voice raised from that. "I really can't help you with this. And neither can you help me."

He then stands up from the table and gathers his belongings.

"It's about 1800." he says. "You and Jaune may need to eat something."

"Wait, 1800?" Ruby asks.

"To you, that'd be 6:00 pm."

And with that, Krom exists the training hall, leaving a confused Ruby and an exhausted Jaune inside.

"Did…" Jaune wheezes. "Did… he… offer… to help?"

"No." Ruby says. "Let's go back to Professor Ozpin and tell him."

A loud growl sounds from their bellies.

"...right after we eat something.

* * *

Jaune and Ruby meet up with their teams in the cafeteria. While the normal things are being discussed and food is being eaten, Ruby explains what happened at the training hall while Jaune is sipping a glass of water.

"The nerve of that guy!" Weiss yells. "First Ozpin tells Krom to train you two and now he lies about him knowing about the history!?"

"Weiss." Blake says. "Are you being angry at Professor Ozpin, or Krom?"

"At Krom! Who does that guy think he is!?"

"I don't know. Ask him."

Jaune has just about recovered as he thought of something.

"Say, does anyone know where Krom came from?" he asks.

Blake and Pyrrha just look back while Weiss says, "Why are you asking us? Weren't you and Ruby the first to meet him?"

"No. I mean before we met. You know… his history."

"That's something you may want to ask him."

Ruby hears this and finishes her food. "Okay then, let's go, Jaune."

"I can't Ruby. I still haven't finished my food." he replies.

"Oh. Then I'll ask him myself."

Ruby then bolts out of the cafeteria, leaving the remains of RWBY and JNPR to finish their meals.

* * *

Ozpin looks through his documents on all of the child soldier incidents. Some involved Atlas gear being found on them. Some involved a Faunus task force. Some involved children training themselves to become warriors. A few of these seem to make sense, but anyone knows that making it a requirement to be a fighter is somewhat unjust. He gets a notification on his scroll, telling him that someone is in the elevator.

"Come in." he says, and out comes an ever-chipper Ruby Rose.

"Uh… hello, Professor Ozpin." Ruby greets before approaching.

"Hello, Ruby." Ozpin greets back. "I assume you wish to know more about you trainer."

"H-how did you know?"

"Weiss gave me a complaint prior to dinner."

"Yeah. Of course she would do that." Ruby groans.

"So, you would like to know about Krom?"

"Y-yes, sir." Ruby says. "But maybe I should talk to you about Krom's knowledge of history."

"What about it?"

"He says he doesn't know, and that he can't help us with the report."

"Of course he doesn't know. Or at least, he doesn't want to remember."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Ruby, what if I told you that you've been trained by an official war veteran?"

Ruby's eyes widen slightly. She doesn't know how to respond to that.

"Come closer. Let me show you something." Ozpin says.

Ruby walks over to beside Ozpin as he shows her something on his scroll. The things she's seeing made her stomach feel weird, but as she inspected the information a little more, she became fascinated.

"Krom is a codename that was given to him while he was 8 years old. According to the records, his name is Kontate Omnuron."

"Wow. That sounds really cool! Kontate sounds like the name of an otherworldly warrior and Omnuron is that skylord from Realm of Rampage!"

"That's why it's fake."

Ruby looks confused.

"'Kontate' is really a variation that's formed from his real name, which I've yet to discover. The last name 'Omnuron' came from the general's interest in Realm of Rampage."

"Wait, the general?"

"General James Ironwood. You met him when I asked about your encounter during the Beacon Ball."

"Oh yeah. Him." Ruby rubs the back of her head. "So, what does Mr. Ironwood have to do with Krom?"

"Let's just say Krom refuses to see him because of their history with one another."

"Okay. So he's forgotten." Ruby says. She then wonders if this was a mental block or some other mind trick that was played on him.

"What would jog his memory?" she asks.

"Hm…" Ozpin thinks for a moment, before looking at Ruby again. "Maybe you could do something."

Ruby gets a little weirded out by this.

"I need you to fight him."

"Okay then. I guess I should go-"

But then Ozpin puts a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "And I need you to seem innocent."

* * *

The school's obstacle course featured a variety of things that a well rounded huntsman/soldier should be able to get by. Featuring crazy climbing walls, paintball turrets, rope swings, androids, balancing points, jump zones, and things out of some athletic competition TV show, it seems as though no one has ever finished this course without some sort of assist from a tool or their semblance.

Ruby got through it, but her time was lousy because she kept focusing on speed rather than skill. At which, she kept getting time penalties for failing certain obstacles.

Ren also made it, but struggled at the parts where you had to lift a small wall up to proceed.

Cardin gave it a try to impress some of the girls, but failed when the situation called for any sort of skill.

Yang tried it by blasting her way through the course. Literally. She was banned from using the course for serious collateral damage.

And, surprisingly, Krom is also having trouble. But not from a lack of skill, but an imprecise focus. He is still thinking of this "Arid Sandbox" Ruby mentioned. He doesn't know about it. That, or he just refused to share it with the younger one.

As he starts to pass through the turret dodging section, Krom swears he hears the cries small children behind him. While the marks Krom worry a bit, he continues to try and proceed through the rope swing. All of these things running through his head. He swings off the rope he's on and reaches to the other-

"Hey, Krom!"

A little girl's voice makes the boy lose focus as he misses the rope and lands on the padding below. He looks toward whoever spoke to him, and sees a concerned Ruby Rose looking at him. At first he thinks she's here to ask questions, but then he notices her scythe unfolded and ready for combat.

"What do you want, Ruby?" Krom groans as he gets up from the safety mat.

Ruby starts to grow a bit nervous, but continues as she knows why she's doing this. "I was just wondering if we could have a little sparring match."

"Why? Ozpin said I have to help you with tactics and strategy."

"Um, well, yeah. But maybe you could also extend that to helping me with strategy amidst a combat, if that's even a thing."

Krom then steps over to the side where Obdurator is resting and puts on a metal gauntlet instead.

"Well, you aren't wrong." he says before walking to the arena.

While Krom and Ruby sort of warm up, Krom tests out the gauntlet on his arm. Ruby looks at it from afar as she stretches with Crescent Rose. At first, the bracelet doesn't look like anything special to her. Just a metal bracelet has a blue crystal at its center. But before she can get any more curious at the device on Krom's arm, Ruby recalls the things Ozpin told her about.

* * *

_"So you're saying that…"_

_"The reason why Krom, or Kontate, doesn't know is because he doesn't want to remember."_

_"And by me fighting him…"_

_"You are sure to bring something out of him that was supposedly sealed away."_

* * *

She gives a sigh as they ready their weapons and walk toward the center.

"Why are you even doing this?" Krom asks. "You do remember I beat you sister, right?"

But Ruby just smiles. "I just think this would productive for the both of us."

Krom raises an eyebrow at the red hooded girl, who doesn't look serious at all. She's just smiling. With that huge scythe next to her, it makes her look somewhat like a little crazy person. Not seeing Ruby's point in her statement, Krom pulls out a metal coin and flips it into the air. Then, the two enter their fighting stances. Krom looks Ruby dead in the eyes and sees… pain? She knows she is going to lose, but what would make her feel pain before the fight even started? Shrugging it off, the two continue to look, ready to deliver their first strikes to each other.

The coin hits the concrete, and the two fighter engage!

Ruby starts off by shooting behind her to gain a powerful charge, but Krom leaps over Ruby as she takes a swing.

"You know, you really do need this." Krom says before landing behind her.

Ruby takes a shot at Krom, who dodges the shot easily. For the most part, Ruby runs up to Krom and hacks and slashes at Krom, who dodges the attacks easily due to their slow swings. He then rolls underneath a slash and kicks Ruby in the cheek, launching her into the air. Krom gets back on his feet as Ruby slowly gets up.

"This feels sort of familiar." Krom scowls.

"Yeah. I think so too…" Ruby says.

Krom reenters his fighting stance when just then Ruby adds, "Kontate Omnuron."

This makes the boy in blue become a bit angered. "Where did you hear that?"

"Ozpin told me…" Ruby says. "He said that-"

But Ruby gets cut off as Krom punches Ruby in the face.

"What did he tell you!?"

Krom throws another punch at Ruby, who deflects the attack with her scythe. To her, this is like sparring with Yang, only slightly more horrifying. She looks into Krom, and sees that he is also in pain. Seeing that they both are wounded in different ways, the two continue to fight it out.

Krom isn't dodging the attacks like usually is and Ruby isn't being as fast as she was. Blows are traded. Swings are dodged. The two are now on pretty much even terms.

Krom kicks Ruby back before revealing his bracer's true ability. Blue energy expands from the crystal to form a large, blue, transparent shield on Krom's left arm. He hits her face with its face, and sure as heck feels solid to her. But then Ruby counters by bracing Krom against her Crescent Rose and pushes him.

"He said that you've fought in a war before!" Ruby yells as Krom pushes back.

"I fought many battles, but none of which you should know about!" Krom yells back, before pushing Ruby back into the middle.

The two continue with each of the fighters whittling away at each other's auras. With this much emotional trauma, Krom isn't able to hit as hard, so he continues to stay on the defensive with his energy shield. Ruby becomes surprised as Krom has supposedly entered a weakened state, but also becomes determined as the tables have turned. So, she follows up with a barrage of shots and slashes, most of which take decent amounts of aura out of Krom.

As he continues to take damage, old memories start to reform. Memories of his past life. Memories of that when there was only war. Memories spawned from such pain. Memories of when he first used the energy shield on his arm. He tries to think rationally, but with all of these things returning to him and that there is only pain and rage in him, he could only think of one thing:

"This is all a trick!" Krom screams, pushing Ruby back. "Ironwood sent you, didn't he!? He wants to guilt me into joining his Reich!"

"Wh-what!?" Ruby panics, but that's all Krom needs as he starts to show no mercy to Ruby Rose.

"You already know too much about me." Krom growls. "I have to end this! NOW!"

Ruby sees that she is losing badly, and that if Krom doesn't get better soon, she's going to get mauled!

"Krom! Wait! We can help you!" Ruby pleads.

But Krom, now as enraged as Ruby's sister, knocks Crescent Rose out of her hands, grabs the younger one by her neck, and looks her dead in the eyes.

"Who… the hell… is 'WE'!?" he yells, before tossing her into the wall.

Just then, teams JNPR and RWBY enter the training halls in attempt for Jaune to show what Krom does for training, when they come across the boy soldier beating Ruby with her aura in the critical zone. They all are looking, wanting to step in and stop Krom from potentially killing Ruby. But they're all stopped by Professor Ozpin, who was watching the whole time.

"Krom! Please! You need help!"

"SHUT UP!"

The two teams look in horror as Krom beats down on Ruby like a man kicking a puppy.

All of those years, all of those times he was forced to fight, he just lets loose on someone whom he could've called a younger sister.

Yang screams for her little sister as she tries to stop this, but a defensive barrier blocks her off from the arena. She bangs away and looks in horror as Krom has his way on her little sister. Everyone else looks in terror, seeing a side of Krom that they did not expect. Yang demands Ozpin that he puts the shields down. She can't stand to see her sister get beat up like this! But the headmaster of Beacon keeps looking on as Krom cuts loose.

Jaune also looks in worry, but then notices something: Ruby isn't bleeding at all.

Or that's what he thought, until Krom bashes her so hard that a bit of blood spatters on the floor as she is flung back.

Still angry at the little one, Krom stomps over to her, and holds her up by her blouse.

"NO! PLEASE! DON'T KILL ME!" Ruby cries, making their audience of 7 gasp in worry.

But Krom only sees Ruby as a threat that must be dealt with.

He reaches higher and lifts Ruby up by her throat, as all of Ruby's friends beg Krom to stop, and Ozpin narrows his eyes.

Krom readies the energy shield on his arm for the final blow, all of those times, all of those times he was used, he wants to make him pay…

...but then he stops, and realizes what he's doing. He looks at Ruby's bruised face. That look of sadness. That struggle for breath. Those tears on her face. Those same words. His mind drifts off to a time this once happened.

* * *

_We open up with a stormy night where a very young kid, around 10 years old, in a flack jacket and black pants. He holds a faunus girl by her throat with his right, while he grips his blade his left. The boy's expression was expressionless as the dog faunus girl's eyes dilated with horror._

_And without a second thought, the boy thrusts his sword through the girl's torso, ending her misery. He then nonchalantly tosses her body aside as he walks back to the extraction point._

_Wait, this can't be a memory. Can it?_

* * *

Krom looks at Ruby, who's still being held up. Her eyes are starting to close, and the audience looks frozen in shock. Krom then remembers.

He doesn't have a sword. He has a shield.

He doesn't want to kill. He wants to protect.

His target isn't Ruby. His target is the one who made him a killer.

The boy soldier lowers the girl down to her feet, where she wheezes from a lack of air, and they both drop to their knees due to exhaustion. Krom attempts to say something to Ruby, until Yang punches him in the face.

"This is for our last fight!" she shouts, punching him again.

Krom tries to stand back up, but from that flashback hitting him as hard as Ember Celica, he just can't. He looks up as Yang starts to have her own way.

"This is for pissing me off!" Yang yells, and punches him again.

He can't get up. All of those times, he felt like he was an unstoppable warrior. But with all of them dead, he felt himself more dead than alive. So he cries.

Yang then grasps Krom by his bandana and prepares to pummel his face.

"This is for hurting my sister!" she screams.

But before she could give another punch, Blake, Weiss, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora, all restrain Yang with their abilities while Jaune runs to Ruby's side and holds her.

"Ruby!" he shouts. "Ruby! Are you okay!?"

She coughs, before looking into the ocean blue eyes of her friend.

"J...Jaune." she whimpers, because that's all she can do. "Does he… remember?

"Remember? Remember what?" Jaune asks, when Ozpin walks past them.

"Remember his time." he says.

With Yang restrained and glaring at Krom, who is down on the floor, Ozpin walks over to the young warrior. He kneels down and puts a hand on his back.

"It's been 6 years since you've experienced that feeling. Hasn't it, captain?"

Krom moves his head to look back at Ozpin, with tears streaming down his eyes.

"That's… not… me…"

And then he passes out, leaving everyone else to wonder what to do with him now.

* * *

**I'm sorry about Ruby, guys. I couldn't think of another way to progress Krom's history without sending in that crossover. But hey, at least some of you don't have to wonder what that 117 meant. Oh wait, I still didn't explain that, did I? Oh well. Guess I'll have to explain that in the next chapter.**

**Welp, stay tuned as I start to get ready for something here.**


	11. The Arid Sandbox

**Hey, everyone. I just got back from marathoning entire arcs of a web-manga called One Punch Man. To those who have no idea what I'm talking about, look it up. They've also come out with an animated rendition that has been going around, so look into that too. And to those who may ask of my opinion on the series, I'll say the following:**

**1: The series says something about the concept of superheroes as a whole. Pointing at everything from the ideals of a superhero to how ridiculous things get with the glory and rankings.**

**2: The artist, Yusuke Murata, has also done Dangan Tenshi Fan Club, Dotō no Yūshatachi, Donten Prism Solar Car, and many others. Each with great skill.**

**3: The protagonist has the potential to beat Superman. I'm not even joking. He can fight monsters comparable to the Incredible Hulk, and beat them with one punch.**

**Well, enough with a series that's to catch on, which it has. This is where you'll get to know Krom a little more.**

* * *

Chapter 12: The Arid Sandbox

It is the morning after Krom and Ruby's fight. While the rest of their teams are getting ready for their classes, Jaune and Yang are sitting next to a sleeping Ruby, who is resting in the school's infirmary. The nurse says that she is lucky that she suffered minimal damage. The worst being a broken wrist along with a bunch of bruises. A day's rest should get her back in fighting shape in no time, which is a relief to the two blondes in the room.

After the nurse leaves the room, Yang takes the opportunity to talk to her sister.

"How are you doing?" Yang asks.

Ruby groans as she wakes up from her 10 hour slumber. "Wh-what…"

"How are you doing, sis?"

"Okay, I guess."

"The nurse says that you took a blow to the wrist." Jaune says.

"Oh." the younger one replies, rubbing her right wrist. "Must've been from when I got disarmed."

Yang feels a bit of anger start to course as the thought of Krom hitting Ruby came to mind. Jaune feels her vibe and calms her down.

"Don't bother, Jaune." Yang growls.

"I know you're still mad at Krom, Yang." Jaune says back. "But I think we should look more into him."

"Yeah, but that one time-" Yang's eyes dilate from that moment. "That moment… he was about to kill her!"

"No, he wasn't." an outside voice says.

The three students all look toward the door to see Professor Ozpin walk in with his cane and coffee as usual.

"How can you tell?" Jaune asks.

"That murderous intent left when he had Ruby in her hand." the headmaster replies. "But you all must understand that he was also scared."

"Scared?" Ruby asks. "Scared of what?"

Ozpin then types in something on his scroll.

"That will be something for him to discover."

"Who, Krom?" Jaune asks.

Ozpin then looks at the boy in the room."No, you."

Then, Jaune receives a message on his scroll. But before he can check it, Ozpin talks again.

"Mr. Arc, while everyone was in their slumber, Krom slipped from Beacon Academy and has headed east."

"Why are you telling me this?"

That angry vibe returns to Yang at the thought of Krom, while a concerned feeling ensues from Ruby, as she is still worried about the boy soldier. Jaune is just confused at this, and Ozpin has himself and Jaune walk out of the room keep talking.

"Because I need you to find him." the headmaster replies. "You will be flown to his location by Bullhead and convince Krom to come back."

"Uh… okay." he says. "I have one more question."

"What is it?"

"Do I have to fly over there?"

"Yes."

"Ugh…"

* * *

The Bullhead Jaune's been sent to has a few soldiers who know Ozpin and promise to help the blonde retrieve the boy soldier. Jaune doesn't know what to expect when he gets to his destination, but he share the worry Ruby had for the guy. So he takes off in the Bullhead and travels east.

Thanks to the fruit chews he bought yesterday, Jaune is trying his best not to throw up on the Bullhead and hasn't. He steadies himself to look outside and sees a lot of forest in the area. A few patches of grass here and there, a dirt road, and the ocean in the distance making the view all the more serene. To Jaune, just looking at this sight made his stomach settle and his spirit at ease.

"So, where are we heading?" he asks one of his escorts.

"The Arid Sandbox." the other one says. "According to Krom's records, he was in that fight."

"You mean, Krom was a child soldier?" Jaune asks in shock.

"It sure seems like that. Officially, not a single one of the enlisted child soldiers still live. Then again, why else would he freak out when your lady friend talked to him about it?"

"Woah. Woah. Lady friend?" Jaune stammers and almost falls off the ship. "So you know, Ruby is my fellow leader, and was told to make Krom go crazy!"

"Riiiiight."

"_This is going nowhere._" Jaune thinks, as he hears gunfire coming what looks like a crater that's about 1,000 ft in diameter. Jaune gestures for the Bullhead to go in that direction and that's when the gunshots got louder.

"Okay." Jaune says to the other soldier. "Once we land there, I'll have to go in alone."

"Why?" the escort says back.

"I just think it'd be best if you guys stay and not make him nervous."

"We understand."

As the crew approach the crater, they can hear the sound of Grimm getting slaughtered with a mix of gunshots, sword swings, and hand-to-hand attacks. Everyone gets nervous as they find a landing zone, but it seems Ozpin trusts this kid. And as they spot some grass to land, the noise stops. The Bullhead lands a small distance from the crater, the soldiers all secure the area, while Jaune moves through the forest and comes to the base of the crater, which makes him think of a volcano. But before climbing up, he sees a duffel bag and a knapsack with survival essentials inside. Looking around more, Jaune also notices Krom's shield, Obdurator, packed away along with his sleeping bag. Then, he jumps to the sound of shooting and killing starting again, but this time, Jaune can hear someone yelling in there, to. Getting the hint, Jaune starts climbing the mound of dirt.

Of course, being one of the lesser fighters, Jaune struggles to get over and as soon as he gets over the edge, he starts tumbling down like a loose canister. He couldn't see what's inside, he can only hear a male voice screaming as he shoots and slashes away at Grimm ranging from Creepers and Ursa. He keeps rolling, then hits something soft, causing him to stop. The sound stops as an Uras yells in defeat, and Jaune opens his eyes. He looks at what he hit, to see a freshly cut Beowolf looking right at him. Jaune screams as he kicks the dead body away and looks around the site.

There are the the smashed remains of missiles, land vehicles, and a building that once stood here. Jaune then looks toward the center of the crater, and sees Krom on top of the bodies of Grimm that he had just decimated. In his hands were a longsword and an assault rifle that look pretty old and small for his size.

The two boys look at each other. Jaune is speechless, but as he looks into Krom's eyes, he notices that this isn't the epic fighter he met in Vale City. This guy looks a bit more bloodthirsty and seems like he could take that rifle and shoot him in the face if he wants to. Well, Krom gets as far as to aim the gun at Jaune's face, to which the blonde squeals in shock. But then he lowers his gun, and looks on with disapproval.

"What do you want, Jaune?" he plainly says.

Jaune scrambles onto his feet and brushes the dirt off his clothing.

"I, uh… want to know about you." he says.

Krom's expression shoots into a glare, that makes Jaune cower and look away.

"Know me?" he says, raising a gun away from the blonde. "Honestly, this would be the only place where I could explain myself, in the remains of a faunus base and a training ground for lost children."

"Then, is it true, Krom?"

"Is what true?"

"That you've fought here before?"

"Yeah, Jaune." Krom says, his eyes looking like they're relaxing. "This is where I first tasted war."

Krom then steps off the pile of bodies and stabs the ground with his sword.

"I remember that incident, because it is considered my childhood! A part of my life!"

"But was it a war?"

"Hell, no! It wasn't a war, it was an experiment!"

"_An experiment!?_" Jaune yells mentally. "_What could this mean!?_"

Just then, they hear the sound of low-level Grimm roaring and howling in the distance. Krom rearms his sword and rifle while Jaune readies his sword and shield.

But then, Jaune hears the most intimidating scream he's ever heard coming from a kid who is one year younger than himself. This almost distracts him, as he barely blocks the claw of a Beowolf. The two then fight mounds of Grimm that come into the center, with Jaune blocking and slashing away at the Grimm that come close and Krom slashing and blasting away at any Grimm he sees. Their aura levels stop at about 75% before the wave of Grimm supposedly stops, with dead bodies of black surrounding the pair.

"So, you lived. Miss Nikos must've taught you well."

Jaune looks exhausted as he looks surprised that Krom found out.

"How do you know I train with Pyrrha?"

"I assumed that because she's on your team."

Jaune sighs to that, realizing that Krom isn't a stalker or anything like that.

…

...or is he?

"So, if you want to get to know me, you'd might as well stay and fight."

Jaune gulps to that fact. He realizes that if he's going to convince Krom to come back, he's going to have to live through this. As soon as he finishes that thought, the screams of Grimm roar and they climb over the mounds and attack the two boys. As Blue and Gold begin to decimate any monster that comes at them, Krom starts to tell his story.

* * *

_Flashback, Krom's POV…_

_12 years ago, Atlas wanted to test out a prototype drone on living targets. Grimm had no actual liveliness to them and animals didn't have the full capacity to react, or they said. Testing it on Faunus was out of the question as some who were about their ethics thought that is equal to murdering a human. So, they decided to make the project parallel another program that involved the use of a minority group. The minds behind training techniques and robotics for the army thought that this would solve economic and social problems in most of the kingdoms. So they kidnapped approximately 1,000 children from the streets and brought them out of orphanages and morphed them to become soldiers. Including me, when I was 6._

_For one whole year, we were trained to become a child soldier unit. There was crying. There was suffering. We all were beaten and changed and turned into something else. There is no doubt about that._

* * *

The fighting stops as the wave has ended, leaving a panting Jaune and Krom standing in the middle of a pile of bodies. Then, Jauns shares his comments.

"So wait, where did you live before that?" he asks.

"I was a resident in an orphanage in Vale."

"Did you have any friends there."

"Only one, and we're still friends today, wherever he is. He has two swords, I have a shield. He's good in black, I'm good in blue."

"What's his name?"

"His name is Ki-"

Sorry. The Grimm are coming. Then, Krom returns to his story as he and Jaune fight again.

* * *

_After a whole year of getting whipped into shape, we were tossed into a "sandbox", which is essentially all that remains of faunus bunker and a terajoule dust missile._

_That's right, we are fighting in an ancient war zone, and a training ground meant for children. All 1,000 of us were thrown in._

_And with us, there were simple weapons and guns, supplies, and the drone prototype that went on a "test run". I managed to rally some of the children and devise a plan to fight back against the thing that we've been sent to test, and I stated that we show them how flawed the machine is by taking the dust from our guns and making bombs out of them. The attack was a success, but 250 of us were killed. All who survived were taken into Project Young Arms. And seeing that I led these kids to beating their drone, he made me their leader._

* * *

The wave ends with some Grimm dying and Jaune and Krom having taken damage and becoming more fatigued. Their aura has reached 39%, and they realize that another wave is likely to end them.

"So." Jaune says. "What did that make you?"

"I'll tell you."

* * *

Name: Kontate Omuron

Nickname: Krom

Rank: Captain

Serial Number: 152168-1

Unit: 117 Young Arms

* * *

"Wait, '117'!?" Jaune says.

"The general has heard of the legendary huntsman. So he made a super soldier project based on his supposed origin."

"Okay. Then, what about the rest of your unit? If everyone of those kids is supposedly dead, what are you?"

The roars of Grimm yell again, and the two get ready for round 4.

* * *

_After my "promotion", I was enhanced to peak human ability, for an 8-year old. Everyone else go some improvements, but are more stat-heavy than I, who had enhancements all around. We were given bunkers weapons, directions, and training, but no guidance towards living a normal life._

_We have taken up many assignments for 4 years from then-on. Recon, assault, surveillance, search and destroy, search and rescue, you name it. I've seen it all, dealt with it all, and much more. We even, at one point, took part in the Faunus Rights Revolution. But that's when we started facing casualties. I've seen comrades get discharged, killed in action, abused, tortured, and even executed before my eyes. And on the same token, we've been forced to kill faunus soldiers, civilians, and even other humans who didn't side with their own kind. By the time the war ended, only 100 of us survived. And after that , the militant version of the White Fang came to power, and we were sent to fight them with 50 child soldiers._

_Then one day, we were sent to attack a village that's located 80 miles west of Beacon Academy. The 117th was still in recovery, but the General ignored our opinion because in our group of 50, I was the only one who was in top condition. And on that note, the 117th was sent into battle._

_Almost immediately, we were overwhelmed by the locals and were killed in combat, thus making me all that remains of an indecent soldier unit. I still… I just… I..._

* * *

The fourth wave has passed, and the two drop to their knees from exhaustion catching on more. With their auras having finally left them, the two started getting wounds to their bodies. Jaune can feel the claw marks on his leg and shoulder, but Krom is taking blows to his emotions and is crying on his knees. Jaune looks toward the younger one, to see that his sword has lost its blade and his assault rifle is smashed apart. He moves closer to Krom, who scoots away before falling on his chest and dropping his weapons.

"Well, now you know me, Jaune." Krom sobs. "Are you going to leave me now?"

Jaune moves closer and lifts Krom back into a kneel before responding.

"Of course not." Jaune says. "If you can come back, maybe we can help you."

"Why? Didn't you hear what I told you!? I'm a man out of time, Jaune! I don't belong in Beacon! I shouldn't even be alive! I should be dead with my comrades in some pit with no stone! That name I told you about isn't even mine!" Krom shoves Jaune off. "Why should you help me in any way?"

"Because you agreed to this." Jaune says, getting back up on his feet. "You, me, Ruby, we all agreed to help each other."

"Since the crap when!?"

"Since about 3 days ago."

Krom was just about to take the remains of his sword and jab into Jaune's dense skull. But seeing that he would take things too far, he stops. Jaune lowers a hand to the veteran ,who quietly accepts the assist and stands back. With his head looking down, Krom asks,

"Any more questions?"

Jaune smiles. "Just one. What is-"

But the blonde gets interrupted as the roars of Grimm reach their ears for the fifth time, and he realizes that they both are out of shape to start fighting again. So Jaune pulls out his scroll and calls for backup. Krom is too caught in pain to wonder what Jaune is calling for. Then Grimm come forth, they climb over the mound, and then get shot by the squad of soldiers coming from where Jaune came from. Krom, having a dark history with Atlas, freaks out at the sight of the soldiers, but then one of the shouts,

"Don't worry, Cap! We've got you covered!"

At this point, Krom is now too confused to act. So Jaune has no choice but put Krom's arm over his shoulder and performs the walking assist to help him over the hill. While Jaune could only get halfway out of the put, two of the soldiers stop shooting to help the other boys get out of the sandbox and into the Bullhead, where everyone gets on and escapes.

As the two boys get some first aid and rehabilitation, Krom recalls something Jaune said a few minutes ago.

"So… what were you asking?" he asks.

And Jaune just smiles. "I was asking about your name, Krom. Your real name."

Krom just looks at him, trying his hardest not to look happy at all and sort of succeeding.

"Kon'iro. Just Kon'iro."

* * *

**紺色 = Kon'iro = Deep Blue (literally)**

**And that is but half of Krom's full origin, so you guys know. But then again, I'd might as well explain how I even came up with this guy:**

**It all started with Captain America, then Dungeons and Dragons, then Sword Art Online, then Metal Gear Solid, then RWBY, then Halo, then my favorite color. While this may feel like copyrighting, I will quote Austin Kleon, author of "Steal Like an Artist", who says,**

**"What a good artist understands is that nothing comes from nowhere. All creative work builds on what came before. Nothing is completely original."**

**I.E. I am inspired by many sources, and I'm sure you readers are too.**

**And that's the concept history of Kon'iro. I have yet to explain his semblance and other origin later on.**

**But before I get started on chapter 12, I would like to ask you guys about my OC's name. Would you like it for him to be called "Kon'iro" from this point on? Or should I continue to call him "Krom"? I'm personally into his new name because it more accurately goes with Monty's rule of names with color. Send me a review or a PM if you would want to answer.**

** Until then, see you next time.**


	12. Kon'iro's Initiation

**Yeah, there was a huge delay in the chapters due to school, deciding a career, my parent's 25th wedding anniversary, and RWBY Volume 3 coming out. So, I've decided to change the plan accordingly. It won't be a huge deviation, but I'll still do my best to share with you guys an impressive storyline. Some are obvious, some you may have to think hard. So without further ado, here is Scythes, Swords, and Shields ch.12.**

* * *

Chapter 12: Kon'iro's Initiation

It doesn't take long for the two boys and the soldiers to return to Beacon Academy. Jaune thanks the soldiers as they return to their airship, leaving the two students to return to the school. Ozpin greets Jaune and Kon'iro as they enter his office, but that's when things get serious again.

"So, Mr. Arc." Ozpin asks. "What did you find out?"

"Krom…" Jaune looks at his friend's face. Krom, now "Kon'iro", nods to Jaune as to that one thing he knows about him. "Kon'iro admits to being in the Arid Sandbox incident."

"Hm…" Ozpin says before standing up.

"Tell me, 'Kon'iro'." Ozpin says. "Why exactly did you decide to stay here? You could've easily moved to another kingdom and served there, or remained anonymous to the world."

Kon'iro looks back at the headmaster. "Let's just say I've decided to put my faith into one of Remant's finest."

Ozpin nods his head. "Suppose the General were to know you were here. What would you do then?"

"I don't know. That's why I'm here. At Beacon Academy"

Ozpin doesn't know how to respond to that, but he does know that Kro… Kon'iro (he'll have to get used to that) can't stay hidden forever. So what would make the boy less with Atlas? Perhaps… getting him on his own side. That may not be a bad idea. Then again, what does Kon'iro himself think?

"Sir. I would like to take part in this school's initiation." Kon'iro plainly says.

Jaune and Ozpin both look surprised.

"Kon'iro? What?" Jaune says.

"I want to show Ironwood that I'm not his." the blue boy responds.

Ozpin comments, "Kon'iro, are you-" but he stops.

Kon'iro looks intently into Ozpin's eyes, which is enough to deliver his message to him. Guess he does agree. The headmaster shakes his head before taking his scroll and scheduling the special event for tomorrow.

"Tomorrow you will have your own initiation as a way of demonstrating your skills and yourself to the school. And because it will be just you, I will have to change things accordingly. In the meantime, Kon'iro, you should make any necessary preparations."

"Understood." Kon'iro says. But then wonders. "How so?"

Ozpin just smiles. "I'll let your future classmates help you on that."

* * *

As expected, Kon'iro gets a new upgrade to his look, loadout, and mindset the very next day.

His uniform looks a lot smoother with kevlar polymer instead of that softshell he used to have. Shin guards and bracers have also been removed, with his combat knife being with his utility belt. On his left collar now rests a circular medal, with his symbol: a blue, 8 crest star.

The pistol holster never really had a gun there in the first place, so Ruby crafted a special handgun for him to use. This pistol has the appearance of a black Sig Sauer Mk25 that can put most Atlesian handguns to shame. She wasn't kidding when she told him, "I can make you an awesome gun."

After loading his pouches and pockets with extra ammo, his scroll, an external battery, a solar cell, grenades, some paracord, a first aid kit, nanite syringes, food rations,, survival kits, knives, and a tactical pen, Kon'iro steps out of Beacon's halls and onto the cliffside, leading right into the Emerald Forest. Even though this is just a test, Kon'iro thinks it'd be best to pack like this is a field mission.

He still can't believe it. After telling Jaune of how horrid his past was and giving him a reason to dislike him, Jaune and Ruby straight out refused to dislike Kon'iro in any way. After all, all of those upgrades came from their teams, despite their suspicion and reluctance to comply. This gets him wondering, after he finishes this initiation thing, what then? Will he have to work with the students, the latter of which are 1 year older than himself? Or will he be some errand runner for Ozpin? These assumptions remain unchecked as Ozpin stands at the edge of the cliff, where those same launching platforms lined up behind him. One thing is clear though: while everyone is in the tournament, he's going to join their ranks.

"Are you sure you want to do this, soldier?" Ozpin asks.

This lets Kon'iro know that he's had enough. He has been running around for half of his life. Some with the army. Some to become better. Either way, he reminds himself that he'd like to settle down at one point or another. Vale doesn't seem that bad.

"Yes, sir." he says, standing on one of the platforms. "I'd might as well make myself known to your students."

"Very well." Ozpin says back. "I'm going to let you know right now, people will be watching this. Impress them." As Kon'iro stands up straight, Ozpin gives the soldier a summary of the official initiation and his initiation.

"Before you came to Beacon, 12 students ventured into the forest in search of these 'relics' I've set up, chess pieces. They were meant to determine the order of the teams, so there are 3 of the same 4 pieces. As you might have guessed, this means that there are no more pieces there. So, I've left a different relic at the Abandoned Temple, and that will be your main objective. Kon'iro, you are to go into the forest, retrieve this relic, and return to the academy alive. Are there any questions?"

"Rules on outside help?"

"No faculty or instructors will be allowed to intervene."

"Roger." Kon'iro finishes, getting into a leaping stance.

But before fully entering a leaping position: he sees a large structure in the air near them. To him, it looks one of those floating castles that he read with his other friend. The large crystals on the bottom made it apparent that Atlas had something to do with its construction. And that made him cringe, thinking that they have a hand in everyone's affairs these days.

"Sir, what is that?"

Ozpin also looks at what Kon'iro's starting at. "That, soldier, is the Amity Coliseum. It's where the Vytal Festival Tournament is taking place, and it's where your classmates are fighting."

"Fancy." Kon'iro finishes before re entering his stance. "I've never been able to see it until now."

Ozpin stands aside as he pushes a button. And with that, Kon'iro is sent flying through the air. He positions himself into what appears to be a swan dive move farther his momentum.

Seeing what looks like a stone circle, Kon'iro positions himself, so that once this branch comes close, he can swing off it. Kon'iro grabs the tree branch and parkours through the thicket, moving towards the temple. Kon'iro continues to monkey swing from tree to tree before landing in a clearing infested with Grimm of the lesser variety.

Kon'iro opens up. "Beowolves and Ursai? This shouldn't be much. Now to pull out-"

He stops. He reaches onto his back to find his trusty shield not there. That's when he remembers.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-!"

* * *

"Go get em, Jaune!" Ruby cheers from the stands of the Colosseum.

JNPR just got started fighting team BRNZ, and some of Jaune's training is making him more effective in combat. Of course, as Yang points out, he's still not even close to Pyrrha's level.

"At least he's getting better." Weiss points out.

"-UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"

The entire coliseum goes silent for a few seconds.

"Peter, do you hear that?" Oobleck says from the skybox.

"I can feel that." Port replies.

* * *

"-UUUUUUUUUCK! MY SHIELD IS ALL THE WAY BACK AT THAT F**KING PLAYGROUND!" Kon'iro screams.

Apparently, this gets the attention of the Grimm he just met, making the boy soldier even more agitated.

"Guess I'll have to deal with it for now." he says.

Kon'iro shoots his hand in the direction of the shield before pulling out the metal bracer he keeps close. He then pulls out Ruby's pistol, activates the bracer's energy shield, and engages at the monsters. While it's somewhat harder without Obdurator in his hands, Kon'iro still manages with punches, bashes, kicks, and blasts, defeating the Grimm without taking a scratch. seeing that his subweapons are in good shape, Kon'iro sheathes his weapons before moving more into the forest.

* * *

Ozpin and and Ironwood are watching from their skybox as Nora smacks team BRNZ off the stage and into the barriers.

"Heh. Lightning manipulation?" Ironwood asks.

"Yes. Weren't you listening?" Ozpin replies. "Like Xiao Long stores damage, Miss Valkyrie can store electrical energy in her body and use it to enhance her physiology. Well played on her part."

The two headmasters smile to that, when one of the Atlesian soldiers comes up to Ironwood and salutes.

"Sir! The asset has been sighted!" he says.

"Show me." the general says.

The soldier pulls out his scroll and shows Ironwood a picture of a boy garbed in blue running through a forest while obliterating any Grimm he comes across. Ozpin tries to lean over and see what they're seeing, but Ironwood suddenly closes the scroll and nods to the soldier.

"Good." Ironwood says. "Send in the Corporal to pick up the asset."

The soldier acknowledges the order and leaves the skybox.

"_Asset_, James?" Ozpin asks.

"It's none of your concern, Ozpin." Ironwood glares.

Ozpin returns the glare before sipping his coffee. "Very well."

"So, who's next?

"Hm… Team SSSN vs Team NDGO"

* * *

Kon'iro punches and throws the small Grimm he meets while he proceeds through the forest. Due to his immense combat experience, this sort of action doesn't feel like much to him. Then all of a sudden, he sees a huge wave of Grimm come his way. His first response is to open his energy shield and block anything that comes in contact with him, but to his surprise, none of them even come close to him. They all just seem to move around and avoid the guy behind a blue wall of photons.

Kon'iro stands back and up to look at the Grimm that passed him, when suddenly a huge metal hand grabs him and hurls him through the forest, leaving a stream of downed trees and a dent in a mountain. After that sudden strike, Kon'iro looks up from the crater to see an Atlesian Paladin walking right towards him.

**Queue: [Rules of Nature - MGR: Revengeance]**

"Long time no see, Cap!" an altered male voice shouts from the mechsuit.

Kon'iro looks angrily at the Atlesian Paladin, but then recognizes the voice coming from inside, while dodging a punch it threw.

"What the, Private Hart!?" Kon'iro shouts in surprise.

"I'm not -'Private' these days! It's Corporal!" the Hart shouts back.

Hart then has the mech suit throw another punch at Kon'iro, this time hitting its mark and sending the boy soldier barreling through more trees. He then follows up by firing some of the laser guns at Kon'iro, who deflects them with the energy shield.

"Why!?" Kon'iro pleads. "Why are you doing this!?"

"Simple!" Hart says back. "The general wants you back because, after all, you are one of his little kids."

"I am not his little kid!" Kon'iro yells back before charging at the Atlesian Paladin that houses Corporal Hart.

The Corporal throws another punch, only for Kon'iro to jump onto its arm and spring to the cockpit. He punches the hatch, causing it to dent inward and shake the entire mech suit. Corporal Hart becomes angered as he starts to throw more punches at Kon'iro, who in turn dodges them. Then a sound bite comes in on his intercom.

_Winter Schnee is coming into Vale airspace_.- it says.

"Oh! You hear that, Krom!?" Hart shouts to the boy he's fighting.

"Hear what!?" he says back.

"Winter is coming!" Hart says back. "And that means that when I capture you and show you to the general and Miss Schnee, I'm going to get an instant promotion!"

"Like your squadmates did the rest of us!?"

"YES! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The Atlasian Paladin extends a hand in an attempt to crush the soldier, while Kon'iro strenuously pushes back up, potentially getting sent into the ground. Recalling that this turn of events is expected of the army, this made his feelings from those days feel literal. Being under the weight of Ironwood, being forced to fight for his life every day, it feels like nothing's ever going to get better-

Kon'iro stops. He starts to feel as if something familiar is approaching. He looks in the distance to see a silvery star flying above him. This can only mean one thing.

He shoves the metal palm off of himself and dodges into the trees. Corporal Hart sees this and fires the lasers again.

"These Atlasian Paladins are equipped with motion sensors, Kontate!" he shouts while shooting. "You can't possibly hide from me!"

Then, as he tries to reach for the boy with his right, Kon'iro activates his semblance, which makes him blur around the hand and grab it by the wrist. Hart tries to push his hand into Kon'iro, who pushes back with great effort. At that moment, the two hear what sounds like a high speed cruise missile coming their way. At least, that's what Corporal Hart thinks, until a blue disk flies through the mech's shoulder, reducing it to scrap metal.

The mech grabs the stub of his shattered arm and looks at Kon'iro again.

He looks coldly back at Hart as the glowing blue disk rockets in his direction, catching it without a problem. The energies dissipate immediately, revealing him holding his famous shield, except the edges of the cross appear to have small gun barrels pointing out. Kon'iro puts it on his back before sprinting forward and grabbing the mech's foot. Hart can feel the energy Kon'iro is giving off through 70 pounds of steelwork.

He's pissed off as ever.

As Kon'iro tightens his grip on the robot's foot, the shield on his back begins to flare as the left, right, and bottom barrels shoot out a searing blue flame, making the mech move.

"The name..." he says, grabbing the leg harder. "…is KON'IRO!"

**RULES OF NATURE!**

Combined with the force of his rocket propelled shield, Kon'iro gives off a huge scream as he hauls the Paladin by the foot and then hurls him high into the air. Hart becomes shocked as he is currently soaring over the forest and pissing his pants. He knows what that Kontate is considered enhanced. He knows how powerful the army made. He knows that he was the finest of the child soldiers. But…

_"WHEN THE F**K DID HE BECOME SO POWERFUL THAT HE COULD HURL A MECH INTO THE SKY!?"_

Corporal Hart's thought came to a screeching halt as he sees the Amity Coliseum come into view. And it's getting closer.

* * *

Struggling to resist his fear of water, Neptune tiptoes to the pool of water while Sun looks on in shame. Is he seriously that freaked out? Neptune jabs his trident into the waters, pushes a button, and lets loose an electric shock that electrocutes she three girls in the water. Their levels plummet, their knocked out forms floating in the water.

"You know what I call that victory?" Port says.

"Shocking?" Oobleck replies.

"No. Well earned. What you said is stupid."

Just then, a loud crash sounds and the whole coliseum suddenly shakes. The audience goes into panic while the contestants get confused.

"Port, do you feel that?"

"I can taste that!"

* * *

Ironwood stares blankly at the wall behind him while Ozpin looks with an eyebrow raised. The top of an Atlesian Paladin is sticking through their skybox wall and inches away from Glynda's face. Sighing, Ironwood walks over to the downed Paladin and opens the busted hatch.

"Report, Corporal." he says.

Corporal Hart raises his head groggily and looks into his general's eyes. And he doesn't look happy.

Weak from battery and shock, Hart groans, "The… asset… couldn't... be… contained…"

Ironwood grits his teeth. It's been 4 years, and now that Ozpin has Krom at his academy, James feels that now is the time to retrieve his greatest weapon. I mean, something as priceless as a well trained super soldier, he will not slip up the opportunity!

"James."

Ironwood turns at the sound of Ozpin's voice. The head of Beacon's staff scowling at the General.

"Just what are you up to?" he continues.

Ironwood sighs. "My men are trying to take care of a threat that resides in the Emerald Forest."

"What threat? There is a student taking an initiation test in there. I assure you that if something does come up, he'll take care of himself."

"No, Ozpin." Ironwood assures. "The threat is in that forest and I intend to capture him."

"Capture him?" Ozpin repeats. "What could you possibly be-"

He stops. The Grimm population in the area has not been at all concerning, ever since the last initiation they had. But then that gets him wondering: why would an Athlesian Paladin have his head in the wall? That's when he puts two and two together as the General tells his men to send more Paladins.

"James, call off your strike. Now." Ozpin says, demandingly.

Glynda looks at the two headmasters in confusion as they seem to be having a glaring contest.

"Why should I?" Ironwood says back.

"You have no right to be playing his life like that."

"He is one of my soldiers, Ozpin. That's why I had to get the area into lockdown somehow."

An explosions and laser guns sound in the distance. The audience in the coliseum starts to get uneasy, even with Oobleck urging them to be orderly. Ozpin's eyes get a tad bit wider.

"Is that why you're really here? That boy?" he says. "You brought an entire fleet, 2 armies, and a literal battalion, FOR A BOY!?"

The outburst catches Glynda and James off guard as they've never heard Ozpin shout like that before. While Glynda tries to get him to calm down, Ironwood shoots back,

"That boy is the byproduct of decades of Atlas Military research! I will not let him escape my grasp again!"

Ozpin, for the longest time, really wants to whack James upside the head for causing a ruckus to occur in the Emerald Forest. Actions of the sort will make the public uneasy, and the Vale officials very disappointed in the Huntsman program. But then he thinks of another idea. After regaining his composure, he says something.

"James, I'd like to bet you on something."

Ironwood calms himself in response. "What would that be, Ozpin?"

"Krom is trying to find a better life here in Vale while you seek to make him no different than your robots."

Ironwood raises a fist.

"Which is why we're making a bet."

Then lowers it.

"If Krom can complete his initiation, then he is to remain one of my students, or service workers, at my academy."

Ironwood's expression softens, almost comically in response to this proposition. "Sounds fair. But if my men are able to capture him before that happens, then he shall return to my ranks as Captain."

The two headmasters continue to look on as the fighting ensues outside. If this kid is as valuable as Ironwood says, then neither is determined that they will win this bet, for different reasons.

"Done."

* * *

**Yeah. For the sake of plot development, Ironwood is very OOC in that he has malicious reasons for visiting Beacon. But, yeah, considering I gave my OC have a history with an infamous Academy of militant regards, it had to happen. Also, I've revealed more about Oburdator's abilities. I have yet to show the full extent of Kon'iro's semblance, but hey. Progress is progress, right?**

**Anyway, I intended the initiation to last a single chapter, but seeing that I'm running out of words, the ending will have to wait.**

**Until next time, guys.**


	13. The Blue Rose

**With christmas day on the brink, I just thought I would finish this and get on with the rest of the story while I try to prepare something for christmas day. Just throwing that out now, here is chapter 13.**

* * *

Chapter 13: The Blue Rose

Kon'iro dodges a laser shot as he is trying his best to reach the forest temple in time. 5 Atlesian Paladins are trying to stop him from doing so. One of the other Paladins tries to fire again, only for the Captain America lookalike to deflect the shot with his shield and send it into another mech, blowing its foot off. Kon'iro continues to move forward as the 2 Paladins are catching up to him, guns blazing away at him. He then puts his shield on his back to deflect any shots that do hit and continues to move forward. Then, his scroll rings. Rolling his eyes, Kon'iro makes a sharp turn to the right and pulls out his scroll. Due to the robot's lack of agility, they stumble over the rocks and trees they crash into. Then, the boy soldier answers his phone and continues to move forward.

"Kon'iro, do you read?" Ozpin says on one end of the line.

"Ozpin! Got an update for me? Because it looks like Ironwood is getting desperate."

"Yes, he is. So here's my update: I will guide you to the forest temple while you dodge waves of mechs."

"What about that thing on 'outside help'?"

"James already broke that rule, so there's no point in enforcing it."

Just then, Kon'iro moves his head down to dodge an incoming laser.

"Anyways, you were heading in the right direction, soldier. Keep moving."

Kon'iro attaches a black stub to the side of his scroll and an earpiece to his ear before moving in the direction Ozpin instructs him to. And before the Paladins could regain their footing, their target is long gone. But then another sound leaves them unnerved. One that the initiates of Beacon are supposed to experience in this forest.

A bird cawing. Pincers snapping. Wolves growling. The soldiers hastily arm their weapons.

* * *

All attendees of the Vytal Festival look on at the chaos ensuing in the Emerald Forest. With reports going around saying that crime has stopped with the capture of Roman Torchwick, this has people questioning whether this year's Vytal Festival is going to festive at all.

Students from varying kingdoms look on in confusion as the forest is now on fire, with gunshots and screaming Grimm sounding from there. Ironwood looks on from the observation in his flagship, the AMS-Justicar, and shakes his head in pity.

"You could have ended this many years ago, captain." he says to no one in particular. "All you had to do was ask for reconciliation. And reinstatement."

But unbeknownst to him, his fellow headmaster has returned to his office without ever getting off his scroll.

* * *

Kon'iro has managed to spring through the forest and has finally made it to the abandoned temple. The 12 pedestals are all lined up around the center, like always, with the 3rd of a circular wall coming apart around him, slowly. While he was expecting a crest, a tear shaped gem, a golden sword, or a turquoise colored crystal cube to be found, the sight in the middle of the temple leaves the boy soldier confused.

"A blue rose?" he says seeing, indeed, a blue, thornless rose sitting in a glass vase in the middle of the temple. And this confusion gets overheard.

"What?" Ozpin says over the comms. "A blue rose?"

"Um, yes sir. There is a blue rose sitting in the middle of the forest temple." Kon'iro looks around the temple. There is very little evidence that anything else would suffice. "And it looks like it's the only thing close to a relic here."

"Are you positive that there isn't anything else there. Like a mug? Or a medal?"

"Nope. Just the rose."

*sigh* "I guess it'll have to do. Take it. It'll be your relic."

Kon'iro picks the rose from its vase and tucks it into his jacket, it's blue flower still sticking out in front of his bandana.

"This had better not be one of those shipping tricks."

Seeing that he has recovered his objective, he proceeds to leave the way he came, only to receive gunfire from on high, which he blocks. Looking towards the sky, he sees an Atlesian Dropship (not bullhead) cooling its guns down. It then turns around to opens its hatch and reveals 3 generic soldiers from the Atlas forces.

"Captain Omnuron!" one shouts. "We promise! If you come with us quietly, we'll take you back to Ozpin's office."

But Kon'iro is not that convinced. He can sense the underlying smirk in the guy's lips and the quivering of his hand. He's lying.

Then he gets an idea. Or… he's half right.

Ozpin notices that Kon'iro isn't moving.

"Kon'iro, it's a trick! They just want to take you back to Ironwood!" he shouts.

"Don't worry, sir." the boy soldier says before walking onto the dropship. "I know what to do."

The soldier on the ship gives Kon'iro a salute, which he returns. As the ship starts to take off, Kon'iro observe the 5 men on this ship. 1 is at the helm, 1 is on guns, and the other 3 are nervously watching him. Why nervously? Their faces are dripping sweat, their hands are shaking, and their fingers are dangerously close to the triggers. Kon'iro merely moves his hand towards his face, and the soldiers hastily aim their guns on their hostage.

"At ease, men." Kon'iro says. "It's been a long day, so I'm going to meditate a bit."

The Atlesian Soldiers don't lower their guns, but Kon'iro proceeds with his "meditation". He puts his hand into a fist then extends his middle and index fingers and sets them on his temples. Then he closes his eyes, and starts to focus. The soldiers become less anxious as they see their captive start to relax. But they aren't prepared for what happens next. Because the next thing they know, a blur of blue and silver races around the dropship, ties up the crew, and makes the blue soldier disappear. The men look confused as they went from being the captor to the captive. They struggle as they try to break their bonds, but none of them have their knives on them. They squirm and wiggle about, but then they hear a small alarm sound. They look at the back of the ship, and see that the bay doors are starting to open. Then the ship begins to turn skyward. The squad cries for their lives as they slowly start to slide off the ship and down into who-knows-where.

The soldiers try to speak up as they slowly approach their demise.

"OH CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!"

"PLEASE SPARE US OF THIS HORRIBLE FATE!"

"I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"WHY YOU DO THIS!?

They finally fall off the ship, plummeting and screaming for their lives as they drop…

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

...down…

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

...down...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

...down...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

...down...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

*CRUNCH!*

"MMMMMPPPPPHHHHH!"

...onto pile of leaves.

* * *

Kon'iro sits at the ship's cockpit, trying his best to remain serious and not to laugh at how horrible of a person he was back there. I.e. he still isn't smiling.

"That was a bit harsh, soldier" Ozpin says, still on a commlink.

"Hey. How did you think they got us over our motion sickness?" Kon'iro says back.

Ozpin goes silent for a few seconds. "Fair enough. Maybe you can try that with Mr. Arc sometime."

"Oh, I intend to." Kon'iro says as he flies back to Beacon.

* * *

Rumors are already going around as to why the Atlas Military is setting fire to the Emerald Forest. The huntsmen and huntresses still look on in confusion, until a call comes in on all the scrolls within the area of Beacon Academy.

"Attention all huntsmen and huntresses, this is General Ironwood. There is a runaway soldier of my unit that I am looking for. Tan skin, blue eyes, 5'6", uses a shield, and is flying a jet towards the school. If you can bring him to me, I promise, there will be a reward."

With that huge broadcast, some of the students believe the bait and start hunting for Ironwood's suspect.

* * *

Upon hearing the broadcast, Kon'iro flies up towards the cliff top in hopes of meeting Ozpin and finishing this crazy initiation. But then Ozpin calls again.

"Kon'iro, do you read?"

"I'm still here, sir."

"Good. Because Ironwood is being irrational and for him putting a price on your head, there is going to be a change of plans."

"Why?"

And at that moment, one of the turbines in the dropship takes a hit, making the aircraft spin out of control. As the ship ailerons past the top of the cliff (or barrel rolls for those who can't tell the difference), time slows as Kon'iro sees a huntsman cadet with what looks like a rocket launcher, with his team all cheering as he apparently hit his mark. Time suddenly snaps back as Kon'iro prepares to jump out of the plane.

"That's why, soldier." Ozpin says. "My office. Now."

"Roger that." Kon'iro says, as he pushes the ejector seat at the right moment to have him fly onto one of the roofs.

Without a pilot, the dropship spins around even more, before somehow crashing into the Atlas team. Kon'iro detaches himself from the ejector seat before feeling a rush of energy coming towards him. So he stands up, and then snaps his gun around to see Ruby Rose mere inches away from the front of the gun she made for him. But before he can say anything, Kon'iro looks at Ruby's expression. She's obviously freaked out because of the gun in her face, but her face has turned as red as her cape, if that's even possible. The boy follows her gaze to notice the blue rose still in his jacket, not a single petal had fallen off despite the craziness he's been going through. He looks at her, then the rose, then gives a facepalm while lowering his gun.

"R-Ruby, this isn't for you. It's just a relic." He says.

Ruby, in turn, looks at the ground.

"I thought you brought it for me or something..." she says back, still flustered.

"Look. If Ozpin doesn't try to destroy the rose when I'm done with it, I'll give it to you. Okay?"

Ruby holds Crescent Rose intently as she stutters her focus. "S-sure." she says.

Kon'iro then tries to call back Ozpin. "Sir, it seems that Ms. Rose is trying to accompany me to your office."

"Really?" Ozpin says back. "Then I guess you should let her."

"What if she's also after this reward thing?" Kon'iro questions.

"Don't worry. I'm sure she understands your situation."

Kon'iro looks confused. He looks back at Ruby's childish face, one that says she is innocent enough for you to trust that she isn't going to slice your head off with her precious. That, or it's that puppy face that makes Jaune cringe. Seeing that he may need all the help he can get, Kon'iro sighs as he puts his gun away and pulls out his shield.

"Shoot me in the back and I'll toss you into the Emerald Forest." Kon'iro states.

"Aww, you wouldn't do that to a little girl like me, would you?" Ruby says, still trying to be as cute as she can.

"Wouldn't be the first time." Kon'iro says as he runs across the rooftops and with his ever-present scowl.

Ruby doesn't know whether to be offended by that or scared, but she tries to shake those thoughts as she runs after Kon'iro, not wanting to get in his way.

The other students are trying to plan out their own plan for capturing the boy soldier when two blurs of red and blue come by and knock them off their feet. Red and blue fly though the groups of students that try to get in their way. Red slashes away to make people trip while blue barrels through them and smashes a door apart. Ruby looks at Kon'iro as he is running as fast as she is. She wonders if this is his real semblance, if Kon'iro beat Yang simply because he had super speed. But then the thought occurred to her, that every person's semblance is unique. But that isn't to say that no two powers aren't similar. Ruby almost runs into a wall as Kon'iro redirects her to move toward the tower.

"Pay more attention, Ruby." Kon'iro says.

He just called her by her first name. Does this mean that he's starting to warm up to her? Does this mean that he actually has feelings for-

*THUD* goes Ruby as she runs face-first into a pillar.

""I said 'pay attention'." Kon says as he helps Ruby up and proceeds.

* * *

Kon'iro raises an eyebrow at how easy that was as he and Ruby run inside the base of the tower, where team BRNZ is waiting, trying their best not to seem suspicious. They sheathe their weapons as Kon'iro senses their intent while trying to enter an elevator to Ozpin's office, because BRNZ goes inside the elevator with him. Soft elevator music plays as the 6 of them pretend the day is going normally. The team from Shade stands nervously as they slowly reach for their weapons, which does not go unnoticed.

"Before we get started…" Kon'iro says, making team BRNZ freeze in place. "Does anyone want to get out?"

They all sigh in defeat. Kon'iro looks at Ruby's nervous expression, both of them realizing that Crescent Rose would be pretty much useless in a cramped vator cab.

"Ruby: Down." Kon'iro says, as Nolan pulls out his shock baton and strikes, only for Kon'iro to catch his arm and redirect it at his partner, Roy.

Ruby crouches into a corner as Kon'iro takes on BRNZ in this very cramped space, looking away and covering her ears as her new friend fights the team from Shade.

The team's dogpile tactic seems to be working as Nolan and Brawnz both grab an arm, trying to hold him down. But Kon'iro is no ordinary human, as he lifts the two students with his forearms and slams the two together. May, the sniper, picked the worst place to be in, a cramped space with a bunch of dudes. She tries to ready her gun, only for Roy to accidentally hit her gun's trigger, making her shoot herself in the foot. Brawnz, the team leader, manages to lift Obdurator from Kon'iro's back, but the thing must weigh 30 pounds, because just as he takes it off, he finds himself being flattened against the floor while Kon'iro fights the other three. Nolan manages to land a hit on Kon'iro with the shock baton, expecting to finally put their target down. Kon'iro lowers himself from the shock, giving Roy an opening to strike from behind. But that doesn't come as Kon'iro grabs Roy by the throat and kicks Nolan onto May.

Ruby continues to block out the action going on around her, but amazingly no hits ever lay down on her. Grunts, kicks, punches, and slams, she can hear them, even with her hands on her ears. But then she wonders: _"Why am I the one on the floor!?"_ That's when she hears a resounding-

*BAM!*

Ruby looks up to see a large hole in the tower, team BRNZ nowhere to be seen, and Kon'iro climbing up the escape hatch to the interior of the elevator. Kon'iro then lowers a hand down to Ruby who helps her onto the top of the elevator car. The younger of the two looks up as she realizes that she doesn't know how to properly climb a wall without her gun. That's when she hears Kon'iro tell her to put her arms around his neck. All confused and the like, Ruby reluctantly jumps up and hugs Kon'iro while he simply stands there. Even as Ruby is clinging to the first boy to ask her to hug him, she still wonders why the emotionless gesture.

_"Oh, dear."_ She thinks. _"What could've possibly happened to him that made him this cold to me? Does he still regret ever coming to Beacon? Is he guilty for beating me senseless? Is he thinking back to when he saved me and Jaune from-"_

Ruby's thoughts stop as a gunshot goes off and the two of them are hoisted up as the elevator itself plummets down. Ruby freaks out at the sudden action and the fact that this reminds her of the girl in the tower, but Kon'iro continues to hold on to a hoist cable as the two young warriors reach Ozpin's office.

* * *

Down below, students of varying rank await the one elevator that is reaching the first floor. But the thing that gets them off is about how fast it's coming down. Pyrrha is currently leading the head because… well, she is trying to keep impressions if that's even her thing. She looks at the speed at which the elevator's indicator is descending, but that's when she figures it out.

"EVERYBODY, GET BACK!" she screams as the door to the elevator explodes in front of her, causing the invincible girl and a few others to fall backwards.

All of the students look on disappointment at their fastest way up has been destroyed. Seriously, why doesn't this place have stairs!? But that's when another elevator goes...

*Ping*

* * *

Seeing that the elevator has stopped, Kon'iro starts to climb up the elevator shaft while Ruby continues to hold onto her friend's neck like a girl clutches to her daddy. Kon'iro hears the sound of an elevator coming closer, so he hastens his ascension until they reach where Ozpin's office is.

Ruby, still being a nervous little girl, tries her best to say something, before getting shushed by Kon'iro as though anticipating when she's trying to speak.

He prys through the hoistway doors, only to see Ironwood standing between him and Professor Ozpin. Though it seems that Ozpin is the only one to notice the elevator doors open. Taking this chance, Kon'iro lifts himself and Ruby into the office. Seeing their current predicament, Ruby goes ahead to talk to Ironwood while Kon'iro hides behind one of the pillars in the office.

"Oh, hello there." Ironwood says. "You must be…"

"Ruby Rose, sir!" She says, giving the most cheesy salute she can pull off.

"Yes, that's it." Ironwood says. "I take it you and your fellow classmates are on the hunt for my favorite soldier."

_"All because I was your most powerful weapon."_ Kon'iro thinks, still hiding.

"Sir." Ruby says. "If I may ask, why are you trying to capture him?"

"Capture?" Ironwood tries to sugarcoat the situation as much as he can. "Oh, Ruby. Krom just has a screw loose. I'm just trying to make sure he's been fit for service once again."

"And yet when I met him before, he seemed okay."

"Oh, nonsense." James insists. "I'm pretty sure some reconditioning is all Krom needs. Wouldn't you agree, Ozpin?"

And at that moment, the working elevators burst open to allow at least 10 teams worth of students crowding into the office, all of them asking the general if they know where to find this fugitive of gets himself overwhelmed and tries to talk them down while Ruby looks on from next to Ozpin. Then, before he could add anything, a blue rose appears before Ozpin's face out of nowhere. He looks past it to see Kon'iro holding the rose, and that no one is paying mind to either of them. Smiling, Ozpin takes the rose and pats the young man's shoulder.

"Indeed." Ozpin says, standing up. "Oh, and James."

"What?" Ironwood says, still in the fray.

"I win."

"Ozpin, what do you mean-" he finally turns around to see Kon'iro and Ozpin standing side by-side at the desk.

Everyone just stops what they're doing as it seems Ozpin has taken a wrongdoer into his care. The students look at Kon'iro. Then at Ozpin.

"Sorry, students." Ozpin says to the other students. "The bounty's been called off."

All of the students in the room, except for Ruby, groan as they reenter the elevators and move back to the bottom of the tower. However, infuriated by his defeat, Ironwood screams as he charges at the boy soldier. Unsure of his next course of action, or of his ex-general's sudden burst of rage, Kon'iro grabs Ironwood by the hand and spins him around to redirect momentum to the open elevator shaft, making him fall down a few hundred feet. Kon'iro walks over to the open doors and forces them shut, leaving a shocked student and a concerned headmaster stilled upon the sight.

"You do realize he's going to get you back for that." Ozpin says.

"He already did." Kon'iro says. "It's just the opportunity was wasted."

Ruby still stands with her mouth agape until Kon'iro takes back the rose relic and hands it to her.

"As promised." he says before walking back to Ozpin.

Ozpin sees that same determination he saw in Kon'iro when he first met the boy. It looked like he was still a soldier under Ironwood's command, a marine, an elite of Atlas, a boy who only knows war. But he knows that deep down, combat isn't all he knows.

"Congratulations, Kon'iro." Ozpin says, making this as formal as he can for the newcomer's sake. "You have successfully ventured into the Emerald Forest, retrieved the blue rose, and brought it back to my care without a single petal missing, all while dodging giant Grimm, angry students and the finest in Atlesian Military technology. This certainly deserves some recognition. But what to do?"

"Sir, Kon'iro says. "All I ask is that I would be put where my skills wouldn't mean mass destruction. Also, I must inform you of some collateral "

"Very well." Ozpin acknowledges, and shakes his new colleague's hand.

He then sits at his desk with Kon'iro standing behind as Ozpin calls someone whom he feels can get along with the soldier.

"Qrow." Ozpin says, making Kon'iro raise a eyebrow.

Ruby pays no mind to the men's conversation as she is mesmerized by the blue rose in her hands. Could this be the blooming of a new relationship, or is he trying to pull her leg? Whatever the case, she and Kon'iro will have to be together in one way or another. The very thought makes the little red one's face flush in embarrassment.

* * *

Ironwood grabs onto the ledge caused by Kon'iro's confrontation with team BRNZ and positions himself upright before pulling out his scroll. Frustrated and aching in his left arm, he calls for a bullhead to come by and return him to the Justicar.

"Curse you, soldier." Ironwood says, looking back up the elevator shaft. "I at least hope you stay out of my business."

* * *

**And that is chapter 13.**

**Anyways, the real reason why I'm doing these slowly is because I'm trying to build my art skills. I've done designs of Kon'iro, his team, my OTP, SAO and RWBY fanart, and cover art for a friend's stories among other things. One example would be the cover art for this fanfic you're reading. Oh, and if I ever start a Deviantart account, I hope to see some things differently. That, and then life gets in the way and thus I'm doing this over winter break.**

**Also, I recall a part in the series where Yang gets villified for breaking Mercury's leg. Should I touch up on that bit? If so, it would certainly be exciting.**


	14. Red and Blue Investigations

**Well, lads. After getting caught in the nostalgia of Wallace and Gromit and the aceness of Phoenix Wright, I think it would be a dandy of a good time to do some detective work with that stitch from later on. But just so you know, this chapter will be focused on a single scene and will be taking pointers from things like Ace Attorney, RED, and the performances of Samuel Jackson.**

* * *

Chapter 14: Red and Blue Investigations

While the Vytal Festival is still going on, Kon'iro walks down the streets of Vale with his gear and shield on his person and ready for action. The streets seem deserted with everyone watching the tournament. But ever so determined for his mission, Kon'iro just walks on.

Just then he spots what appears to be a drunken huntsman wobbly walking along the sidewalk. Noticing what appears to be a sword, Kon'iro jogs closer to the stranger.

"Uh, hello?" he says, getting the drunk man's attention.

"Yeah… what do you want, kid?" the drunk huntsman says back, but then he stops.

The two males look each other up and down to see if they're supposed to be meeting. Ozpin told Kon'iro that he'll be seeing a man with greasy black hair, a ragged, red cape, grey attire, and a broad bastard sword on his back. And it seems the other man was told he needs to look for a 16 year old who has a shield on his back, wears blue and grey, and looks like he's a student from Atlas.

Upon a bit of further inspection, it seems that they have, indeed, found their contact.

"Huh." the man starts. "So you're that soldier boy."

"So you're the old crow."

The two continue to look at each other until the older one decides to break the silence.

"Guess you already know why I'm here." he says. "The names Qrow."

"Kon'iro. It's nice to meet you."

"Right then, let's get this over with." Qrow says as the two boys continue to move through Vale's streets.

The two chat about things that's been going on and Kon'iro starts to talk about his issues with Ironwood.

"Oh, that's right." Qrow says. "You're one of those gunner kids from back then, aren't you?"

"Was." Kon corrects him. "And I also happen to be the last of my kind."

"Well that sucks." Qrow says. "Must be hard, being all that's left of some children sized huntsmen."

"Not sure if that was a compliment or a cruel joke."

Their conversation comes to a halt as the two stand before their destination:

Tukson's Book Trade.

Minutes prior, Ozpin had briefed the two to work together and investigate the abandoned bookstore. Why was it closed down? Why the silence about its closure? Is the White Fang involved in this? Well, since Ozpin is too busy to look into it himself, sending in some colleagues is in order. Kon'iro wonders if this is what Ozpin had him up for.

The first thing off the two notice is the heavy tinting in the windows is making it impossible to see through it.

"It seems someone was trying to hide something." Qrow says.

"You suspect a murder took place?"

"Most likely. Why else would this place be avoided?"

With a shrug, the two enter the bookstore. "Under the sun" my foot, because the there isn't any lighting in the room. Or, at there is, but it just doesn't work. Books of varying sorts line every shelf and are stacked in parts of the floor. Dust covered everything, making the entire storefront look grey colored.

"Dang, it's awfully gloomy in here. Hard to see, too." Kon'iro says, but Qrow's attention gets caught by something else, making him plug his nose.

"Augh… the smell!" he says. "Did someone decide to take a dump in this old place!?"

Kon, who also picks up the smell, puts up his bandana to hide his mouth and nose from the stench.

"No." he says. "Feces would smell much more different than that."

It's going to be a hard search, especially with little to no light. Kon'iro pulls out a pair of flashlights for the two of them to use and they get to clue finding. The two proceed to investigate the storefront and as Kon'iro approaches the backroom, he notices that the door has taken a bit of damage in the center and that the reek is getting stronger. He draws his handgun from his side and stealthily moves into the other room to see the source of the smell. A dead body. Kon'iro calls over to Qrow, and with a nod to each other, they get right to observing the body.

"The person must've been dead for 4 days." Kon'iro suggests.

"Guess you don't suppose the puma man was 'left 4 dead'."

Kon'iro just looks at him, unsure of how to respond to that. The best he can think up is:

"Surely you can't be serious."

"I am serious." Qrow says back. "Look kid, I'm not one for forensics, so why don't you just look into this dead guy while I go for a swig?"

"Don't think I'll be doing all of the searching. Go take a look around for something else that would be useful as a clue."

Scoffing with a smirk, Qrow gives a playful salute and walks back into the storefront. Kon'iro groans, wondering how he got paired up with this guy. Welp, orders are orders, and Ozpin seems to know what he's doing. Now then, Kon'iro lowers himself to observe the body:

The victim is indeed Tukson, the owner of this store (duh). Kon'iro is able to determine that it's Tukson because of the feline claws on his fingertips, not his face because that's where the killing blow hit, making his face position on the ground shows both arms flayed over his head while the legs are only slightly parted. This bit of evidence suggests he was hit in the head by some force that made him fly back, smash the door apart, and then sprawl on the floor. It looks like the victim took what resembles a combination between a high left kick and a shotgun shell to the face. And by the indentation and the scrapes on the back of the victim, he was hit while he was airborne. But from where?

Kon'iro stands up from the body and walks over to where Qrow seems to be looking hard. The young man takes a look for himself and finds a footprint that came off a boot. Seeing that the print is still there after 4 days, it seems the indentation required a great deal of force. He compares this one to the print in Tukson's face to find that this is is a match, for the right foot. It starts to make sense for these two.

The victim was high kicked from this spot and landed in the backroom while breaching the doors. The victim couldn't've been standing straight up, otherwise he would've been shot back and flipped over the table, landing face down. It was as though the victim was attacking in defense by leaping over the front desk to attack his assaulter. But now that we know how he died, the question now is, "Who killed him?"

Qrow gives off an exaggerated yawn as Kon'iro tries to piece everything he has together.

"Man, I'm already getting tired." he says. "How about I just head back to Ozpin? I have some news he needs to hear."

Kon'iro sighs. "Fine. Just show me anything else you found."

Qrow puts down two vials, one containing silver hairs and the other holding a minty green hairs.

"I found them while going through some of the books. Bet these things will point out something useful." Qrow says with a smile before leaving the bookstore.

Kon'iro observes the vials he was given. Maybe they're also a clue? But without the proper equipment and access, they may not be of use for now, so he slips them into an empty pouch and continues to search. Kon'iro looks through the backroom more to see even more books lying around, as well as some packed luggage bags. Kon'iro looks through them to see a ticket leading to Vacuo, some extra clothes, essentials, and a letter. Curious, the boy soldier opens it up and begins to read.

* * *

_To my fellow members of the White Fang,_

_Forgive me, but I can't stand the monstrous organization that we've become. Ever since that Roman Torchwick approached us offering weapons and gear, we've been nothing but the bloodthirsty creatures the humans think we are. What is the point of a peacekeeping organization if all we do is destroy and create war? I'm sorry, my friends, but I can't stand by and watch as we become no different than the Grimm all being of this world fear. Ever since that Torchwick and his lady friend, Cinder Fall, came into the equation, we've been monsters. Forgive me, brothers, but I can't stay here anymore._

_Farewell,_

_Tukson_

* * *

"Cinder Fall…" Kon'iro repeats. "Who could that be?"

Just then he hears a door in the back of the shop start to open, so Kon'iro hastily shuts off his light and leaps on top of the shelves. Remaining out of sight, Kon'iro spots 3 armed White Fang members wearing their usual white vest and mask as well as some headlamps for forward vision. They're carrying what seem like man sized tub, some acid, and some cleaning materials. As they mutter while moving towards Tukson's body, it's apparent that they're here to clean out any evidence that there was even a murder here.

Taking advantage of surprise in his hands, he waits for them to set down their wares and hurls a book at one of their heads, knocking him out. The others freak out at this and Kon'iro grabs another agent by the shoulder and bashes him with his shield. The last one falls on his rump and scoots backwards into a corner as he aims his pistol at the blue soldier. So Kon'iro kicks the gun out of his hands and holds the person up by his collar.

"Who sent you?" Kon'iro growls in the perp's face.

"W-w-w-we were sent by someone, I-I don't know!" the man quivers.

Kon'iro looks him up and down as he says that, and then knees him in the stomach for lying. If forensics is in Kon'iro's field of work, so is interrogation.

"I'll repeat myself: who sent you?" Kon asks again

"H-h-how'd y-you know I was l-l-lying?"

"Your fingers trembled when you mentioned, 'someone'. Now answer the question!"

"C-C-C-Cinder!" The agent says.

That's one more step for solving this mystery. Kon'iro proceeds as he knocks out all 3 grunts, ties them up with some paracord, and drags them through the door they opened along with their cleaner's gear. He looks around to see a white jeep looking vehicle with what he assumes is a turret. IE, he just found a grey painted Warthog jeep. He'd have to look into this when he's done. He loads up the cargo he's acquired and tries to look for a location that seems discreet.

* * *

The three White Fang members all look around as they are now tied onto chairs with pieces of paper on their chests with numbers from 1 to 3. Also they recognise the place they're in as one of their former warehouses. It's just abandoned. Each of them are sitting on differing sides of the square table with the 4th side being empty. They suspect they're going to get questioned by the Vale PD. This shouldn't be so bad as they usually aren't good at this.

"Good to see you're awake. And just in time, too."

They flinch. That doesn't sound like a police officer at all. While Numbers 1 and 3 don't recognise the voice, Number 2 does. Kon'iro walks over to them with his hands casually behind his back, still wearing that ever present scowl of his as he walks to the open side of the table.

"I'm not sure how to put this, but things aren't going to go lightly for you two." he says. "I'm going to let you know right now that no one is coming out of this warehouse unscathed. So you better spill it or it's going to be painful, considering this is the 13th time I've done this."

This is bad for the three prisoners. Sure, they were supposed to be peacekeepers between humans and faunus, but for them to face this crap? 1 and 3 start to break serious sweat while number 2 speaks up. Kon'iro sees this and slowly walks around the table to between Number 1 and 2.

"Look." Number 2 says. "I just want you to know that we were just following orders. Okay? I mean we went into this with the best intentions. Really. I mean-"

Kon'iro grabs Number 1's chair and hurls him across the room sending him into a wall. He's just knocked out, but the other two don't know that.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I break your concentration?" Kon'iro asks politely.

Numbers 2 and 3 look in horror at what their captor has done to their comrade, thinking he's dead. Kon'iro simply ignores their state of shock and continues.

"I didn't mean to do that. Please, continue. You were saying something about 'best intentions?"

The prisoners are still focused on the cold, limb body before his eyes.

"What's the matter?"

They're still in shock.

"Oh, you were finished!"

The two put their attention on the 16 year old.

"Well allow me to retort."

Kon'iro gets down to eye level with prisoner number 2.

"What does Miss Cinder Fall look like?"

"Wh..what?"

Kon'iro flips the table over and on top of Number 3. Now it's just Kon'iro and Number 2 that are conscious.

"What kingdom are you from!?" the captain continues.

Number can only stutter, "Wh-wh-wh..what?"

"'What' ain't no kingdom I ever heard of! They speak english in 'What'!?"

"Wh-what, what?"

"ENGLISH, MOTHAF**KA! DO YOU SPEAK IT!?"

"Yes!

"Then you know what I'm saying!"

"Yes!"

"Describe what Cinder Fall looks like!"

"...Wha-"

Kon'iro points the pistol at Number 2's head. "SAY WHAT AGAIN! SAY. WHAT AGAIN! I DARE YOU! I DOUBLE DARE YOU, MOTHAF**KA! SAY 'WHAT' ONE MORE GODDAMN TIME!"

"Sh-sh-she's human…"

"Go on!"

"Dark ashy hair… fiery eyes…

"Does she look like a bitch!?"

"What!?"

He said "what", so Kon'iro shoots Number 2's shoulder, making his prisoner scream in pain.

"DOES SHE LOOK, LIKE, A BITCH!?"

"YES!"

Kon'iro pauses at the man's boldness, and lowers his tone by a lot.

"Wait, seriously?"

"Y...yes."

"Well, thank you for you honesty."

Number 2 gives a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. So, you gonna let us go?"

"Nope." Kon knocks the guy out cold.

Kon'iro finishes putting the notes he gathered onto his scroll when he remember that prisoners aren't really smart thing to have. He would call Ironwood, but what about their terms? Hm… what to do, what to do…

Then he remembers. He looks around the warehouse and finds a convenient bathroom, complete with a porcelain bathtub. This gives Kon an idea. He takes the prisoners, makes sure they're unable to wake up any more, puts them in the tub, takes their acid, and...

* * *

...drives the jeep back to Beacon. May be a longer trip than riding an airship, but who would leave a perfectly good car lying around? Just driving this Boars Jeep reminds him of while he was still in the army, trying to escort 4 refugees of that Faunus Rights Revolution while fending off Beowolves that tried to butcher them. But before Kon'iro can dwell more on the subject, the road he'd taken goes right along the cliffside and through the forest. It certainly feels relaxing, driving through the forest with the sun of dusk shining through. He continues to drive down the road more until he spots a single masoned stone through the trees and next to a cliffside. He parks the jeep and walks through the forest until he sees what the stone really is.

A tombstone. It bears the scattering rose on its face, the same one on Ruby's belt. Even from where open ground meets the trees, Kon'iro can read the stone's epitaph.

"Summer Rose. Thus kindly I scatter." it says.

Empathising one's loss isn't an uncommon feeling for Kon. Being a man of war, friends often fall to the enemy and their bodies may just land next to you. If you're lucky, they might fall face down, making it easier to say goodbye. To see that Ruby had lost her mother at one point or another struck a similar mark on Kon's heart, one that he's felt many times before.

He walks up to the tombstone and looks it up and down. He then looks out to the ocean behind it. It is breathtaking. At least Ms. Rose has a nice place to rest. He stands straight, looks to the grave, and gives a salute that he hasn't given anyone in years. For Ruby to heavily base her style around her mother's, she must mean a lot to her.

"Rest in peace, soldier." he says, then turns back to drive off.

For now, he has a mission to fulfill.

* * *

Good thing Beacon Academy has a private garage for its students to use, although students bringing their own vehicle is a rare sight. When Kon'iro enters the garage, all he sees is a yellow sports bike that looks like it has a history of adventures and some noteworthy upgrades. Seeing its sleek shape and its heavyweight class, only one person has a bike like this. He also notes that the gun on this thing may need repairs.

But, all that aside, Kon'iro proceeds through the campus and to his contractor's office, while avoiding the elevator he smashed a hours ago. He steps inside and goes straight to the point.

The point being there is no one in the room. No Ozpin, no Goodwitch, no Qrow, no one. He remembers hearing another elevator go down as he went up, but he thought that was another attendee leaving the office. Guess it was whoever occupied this room at the moment. Seeing his report will have to be postponed, he might as well get a workout in and watch the fights. But he still has those hairs that need analysis. So he leaves a note and the hairs on the headmaster's desk and leaves for the Coliseum.

* * *

**I apologize if this seems to be a very sudden update, but with a new interface, I was able to write my stories more efficiently. If anyone got the references in this chapter, please feel free to comment. If you don't, go watch a movie or something.**


	15. Golden Fleese

**Okay, recently watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and I just got back from listening to Benny from Comicstorian as he reads up on in-between issues from the original series as well as a follow up issue from The Return of the Jedi.**

**So with those stories in mind, I just thought I could try to include some real action to move away from that "stealth op".**

* * *

Chapter 15: Golden Fleece

Dusk has transitioned to night as the seats fill up in the Amity Coliseum in anticipation for the one-on-one finals. The hype from watching the students fight in a test of skill has spirits high and well for the people whom they'll eventually protect.

But not everyone is in a cheerful mood as some of the participants in the Vytal Festival are thinking about the unusual and out-of-place events that transpired since the festival started. First, there was news of a pickpocket going around for people's wallets. Next, the students go crazy as they were trying to apprehend a fugitive for General Ironwood. Then, a grey huntsman and a white huntress have a fight at the front of Beacon Academy. And after that, a student from Atlas named Penny single handedly brings down a whole team and two more students while her teammates sat back and watched. This is a very strange Vytal Festival indeed.

And while the locals and cadets all get comfortable inside the coliseum, Kon'iro climbs to the top of the structure with binoculars and a silenced sniper rifle, and looks down on everyone. This feels like an assassination job he did, accept the mission zone wasn't as much big, and there were more faces than this. He takes some binoculars and starts to find his target. He got a few pointers from Ruby's better description of this "Cinder", which is why he is on top of the Amity Coliseum looking for the lady.

His attention goes to the combatants on the ground below. They all seem determined to win, with that cowboy, the knight, the puppeteer, and the brawler. The spartan doesn't look so hot. Must be having mutual problems with someone. But the kicking person… that's someone he recognises more than anyone.

"Mercury Black?"

"Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for. The One-on-one finals!" Peter yells in the intercom.

While the audience below hears the sound okay, Kon'iro covers his ears as he sort of right on top of the speakers. As Peter and Bartholomew talk about the rules, Kon'iro inserts his earpieces and continues his search.

Moments prior to coming to the coliseum, Kon'iro asked Ruby if she's seen anyone with the features he's looking for. The little red haired girl said that her friend's suspect looks like one of the combatants that fought in the tournament. Her chest and hips are wrapped with a sarashi, which are underneath some grey pants and a beige leather vest. Her gloves are brown, her boots are grey, and she has a pauldron on her left shoulder.

Kon'iro looks around the front rows as that's usually where the students are allowed to sit. He looks and looks until he sees Ruby and Jaune sitting with their 4 other teammates, seeing that Yang and Pyrrha are in the finals. Kon'iro looks around those two and finds who he thinks is Cinder sitting about 10 seats away from where they're sitting. That doesn't look good as it would cause a major interruption to try and pursue her now. This is exactly why the sniper rifle he brought along isn't meant to kill.

He pulls out the rifle and aims at the one he suspects is Cinder, and he starts to observe her while waiting for the right moment to shoot. That's when he sees her pull out her scroll to make a call. So the young soldier aims at the camera that isn't being covered by Cinder's finger and reconsiders, wondering where a better place to hit would be. Then he sees that the belt pouch the scroll Cinder pulled it from is still open. So Kon'iro takes aim, and fires a tracer round into the pouch as Cinder puts her scroll away.

Cinder starts to look around as she just felt a quick, tiny breeze sort of graze her hand. She then looks up into the night sky to see nothing because of the glare the overhead lights provided. She can't even see the stars.

"What a shame." she says, walking out of the coliseum.

Seeing that his objective has been met, he slides off the roof and into one of the boxes. While Kon'iro tries to analyse his findings, the situation gets more serious as Yang and Mercury are both called to the battle platform.

* * *

Yang and Mercury take center stage as the other combatants leave to watch from a distance.

"You better not go easy on me."

"Heh. You wish."

3…

2…

1…

"Fight!"

The fight opens up with a huge clash between the two with Yang's fist and Mercury's foot. The fight starts off a bit grim for Yang as Mercury keeps outmaneuvering her with his capoeira and fancy feet tricks. Mercury continues to dodge most of Yang's attacks while giving her kicks that are difficult to avoid.

Yang manages to give Mercury a punch in his gut that gives her an opening. She follows up with some flare shots that send Mercury sliding off the stage. It would've been a victory until Mercury fires off his boots, making him "jump" back to the fight. The two continue to punch and kick at each other until Mercury fires a silver bullet from his boots that almost hits Yang. Seeing that he may have another edge, Mercury starts to send out multiple silver bullets that encircle the battle platform. Then in a few seconds, Mercury hits Yang, making her fall to the ground, and then he bombards her with the silver bullets in the air. Assuming she's been defeated, Mercury takes a small walk away from his opponent to dust off his outfit and wave to the audience.

But that was Mercury's biggest mistake, as Yang's semblance flares to life, causing heat of a bonfire to surround the kicker. With her eyes turned red and her hair ablaze, Yang pummels Mercury with strength multiplied from a few moments ago. The grey kicker tries to hit Yang, but she blocks the blow effortlessly and keeps attacking until Mercury's aura goes to zero.

Yang huffs a sigh of relief as her eyes turn back to iliac. She has just won the singles battle. She has made a name for not only herself but for her team as well. Wiping away some sweat that has formed on her forehead.

"Better luck next time" she says before happily walking off.

Mercury stands back up and growls, "There is not going to be a next time, blondie!"

Yang snaps her head around to see Mercury trying to perform a flying kick onto her face. So before Mercury can make contact with her, she breaks Mercury's knee, causing the grey-haired boy to fall to the ground in pain. Yang stares at him, furious that he tried to attack her even after she won fairly. The echoes of boos and gasps fill the stadium, making Yang assume they're meant for her opponent.

"Ugh, my leg." Mercury moans. "My leg!"

Yang gets heated as Mercury starts to sound like the victim, even after his attempted cheapshot.

"That's what you get you little-Huh?" Yang stops as two Atlas solders and 6 androids encircle her with their guns aiming right at her.

"Yang Xiao Long, stand down!" One shouts.

Yang looks back, wondering if they should have their attention on Mercury.

The confusion gets her more. Yang turns towards one of the men and asks,

"What? Why?"

"Mercury!" Emerald shouts as she runs over to her teammate.

"Why'd she do that?" Mercury asks in pain. "Why'd she attack me?!"

Emerald stares nastily at Yang, who only gets more confused. Everyone is for him and against her, as though they didn't see him attack Yang mere seconds ago. And again, she only acted in response to someone trying to sneak attack her in the face.

Then the replay screen plays with Yang wanting to show everyone what really happened. But instead, it shows exactly what she DOESN'T want them to see. The screen shows Yang calmly encircling Mercury, stopping in front of him, and punching his left leg, causing him to curl over and clutch the damaged region like a little kid when he scrapes his knee.

Yang still can't believe it. She saw it herself. She saw Mercury try to strike her blind! But then she sees her teammates. Even from far away Yang can see that they're in as much shock as the rest of the audience. Ruby holds her cheeks in her hands. Weiss puts her hand over her mouth. Blake just looks on in shock, not sure what gesture would make her expresion any different from other people's.

So Yang… lowers her head, not sure how to respond to what just transpired.

And that's when an Atlas soldier lowers his gun and sharply declares the following:

"Yang Xiao Long, on the account that you have just attacked a defenseless student unprovoked, you are to be sentenced to-"

He stops, leaving anyone who heard that first bit confused. He puts a hand on an ear of his helmet, as though he's making a call. Is he asking for permission? Is he asking for evidence? No one seems to know. They all get their answer as the soldier turns back to Yang and finishes.

"Since you still broke a student's leg, the Atlas Military will take you to a day of very deep detention."

Yang raises an eyebrow."And that means…"

"...you'll basically be banned from attending the Vytal Festival for a day. No sweets, no sights, no hangouts, no cheers, just sitting in a cell until you feel you can return to society without a problem."

Yang looks defeated as she has just been denied the right to attend the festivities of this decades long tradition for one day. She planned on having fun with her teammates, with her dad, her uncle, her little sister, but after her accident, she lost that right. Now she feels like one of those pitfighters she heard of while practicing boxing. But seeing that it's done and done, Yang accepts the charges as she puts away Ember Celica and lets the cuffs come on.

The audience looks in confusion as Yang is given mercy and punishment at the same time. No one seems to know how to react to this course of action. But for Emerald and Mercury, their reaction is obvious.

"What?" Mercury says. "One day!? JUST ONE LOUSY DAY!?"

"Why not?"

Everyone looks at a boy wearing blue and grey approaching the two with planks of wood and some white cloth.

Emerald looks furiously at Kon'iro as he looks like he's holding a setup for a white flag of surrender, for them.

"They can't do that!" She yells. "Yang clearly attacked my partner and must answer for that!"

"She is." Kon'iro says. "It's not as bad as you expected because that's not why she did it. Thus, her sentence is to be used as rehabilitation."

He walks up to Emerald and Mercury. He has a good idea of why they're really here, but he has to lighten up the atmosphere somehow.

"Besides, wouldn't it be more important to get your friend's leg fixed instead of focusing on vengeance? I've seen where that train of thought goes, and it isn't healthy for either side."

Emerald just looks at him, ready to counterattack if this boy in blue tries to engage. But that's not what he does. Instead, he kneels next to Mercury and begins to tie the planks to the sides of his leg, making an improvised splint for him.

"Move your foot whenever you can." Kon'iro says. "Lets the blood flow increase to your broken leg, thus making the healing a little faster."

He then helps Mercury onto one foot and sets the disabled's arm over Emerald's shoulder.

"I'm sure Yang didn't mean to hurt your partner, Sustrai. I bet you she's going to say sorry."

And with that, Emerald helps her partner, and possibly closest friend, out of the battle zone and to the nearest medbay. But Kon'iro's job isn't done yet. These people had witnessed an accident short of traumatic. He has to raise their spirits somehow, but how?

"I saw what happened, soldier."

He turns to the voice to see Professor Ozpin walk to the center of the stage with him.

"I'll take it from here, Krom." Ozpin says. "You are dismissed."

Kon'iro gives the headmaster a salute before running off. If Kon'iro doesn't have the means to rebuild hope with the people here, maybe Ozpin can.

"Greetings, visitors and participants. I'll try to keep this brief." Ozpin opens up. "Don't let the accident that transpired here get in the way of what the Vytal Festival is about. Although wrongdoings occur here and there, it is up to us to create peace or spark conflict. If we truly are striving for peace, then let us learn to forgive. Let us be slow to anger. Let us help each other when things go wrong. If we strive for peace, then let us keep it."

And with that, Ozpin leaves the center stage with a smirk on his face. The entire crowd remains silent as confusion wraps all of their minds. Did they really almost lets things go out of hand there? But their celebration continues as Dr. Oobleck and Professor Port start talking again.

"That speech really was brief, wasn't it?" Port says.

"Indeed it was, Peter." Oobleck replies. "But like he said, let's not let negativity get in the way of this decades long tradition."

"You are right, my friend." Then Port turns to the camera in front of them and shouts, "Now who's ready to let the contest continue?"

No one says a word. The not-so-nice stuff gets in the way of them wanting to give of any positiveness. They're unsure if this is even worth it. Will the rest of the festival be this dark? Will the other students become this brutal? This inconsiderate? They are unsure whether or not they say yes or no to the continuation of this festival. But that's when one student makes an attempt to make them say yes.

"Come on, guys! We have a tournament to finish!" a high pitched man's voice says. Everyone looks at the guy who said that to see the leader of team JNPR standing up with a fist in the air, urging the rest of the people to also cheer and boost their morale.

This doesn't seen to be working, until his little red friend happily jumps onto his shoulders forcing him into a piggyback.

"Yeah! Come on! Let's do this!" she cheers, earning a smile from her friends.

At first, they think their attempts to boost morale were pointless, until they hear a an echoing chanting coming from clear across the arena. Team SSSN is also cheering, making the burden all the less cumbersome. And that's when people begin to stand up and follow suit. And more people, and more, until the entire crowd is standing up in agreement. They know not to let the influence of darkness and panic interrupt the festivities. They know that everything is going to be okay.

Seeing that everyone is cheering for the tournament to continue, Peter returns to the mic.

"Excellent!" He shouts. "Now, who is ready for round 2!?"

The entire crowd enters a crowd of joyous uproar as their way of saying "YEAH!"

"Yeah!" Ruby shouts as she pulls out Crescent Rose.

"Wait, Ruby NO!" Jaune shouts, but it's too late.

Ruby pulls the trigger, and the recoil of the gun causes them both to fall over and crash on the ground. Everyone just stops, and laugh at the two as they try to return to their seats. Red and yellow childishly try to hide their faces with their hoods, but the laughter dies down as everyone realizes they're beyond embarrassed.

"It's alright, you two. Laughter is good medicine!" the Doctor says. "So, who are our next contestants?"

And with that, the Vytal Festival Tournament continues.

* * *

Yang can hear the cheers of the coliseum all the way from the bullhead she's getting taken away in. It amazes her that despite all the trouble she caused, everyone was able to get back on their feet. But as nice as that sounds, the recollection that she's going to prison for something she never did still hit her hard. She saw it herself. Mercury attacked, she parried and broke his leg, and the next thing she knows, she and everyone else sees Yang attacking first. Now here she is, going aboard the Justicar to sit in a cell next to Roman Torchwick. It's just for a day. A day where she can sit there miserable.

Just then, everyone on the ship swears they hear thrusters coming their way. But as soon as the sound reaches them, it stops, then an echoing THUD sounds to show Kon'iro and Qrow have hitched a ride with Yang and her captors. The soldiers freak out at the sight of their once beloved captain and take aim, until Qrow signals for them to be at ease.

"Enjoying the fight, kid?" he asks his niece.

Yang looks frustrated. "Yeah, until black boots framed me for assault."

Kon'iro and Qrow can both tell Yang isn't feeling it. So, being the best uncle he can be, Qrow tries to lift her spirits.

"By the way, congratulations on your victory." He says, earning an eyeroll from both teens. "I know things turned sour after that, but we saw how it truly went, and that was a fair fight."

Yang still isn't lightening up.

"I would say, 'Let's put the past behind us', but the past is why I think you should merely have a lecture."

Getting annoyed, she finally responds with, "Yeah, well that doesn't change the fact that I've been framed for attacking a fellow student."

This brings up something Kon'iro can use to help Yang with her case.

"Actually, Yang, what you did was merely instinctive. In fact, you saved me and your uncle the trouble of catching the murderer in this case we were looking into."

Everyone except for, Kon'iro and Qrow, stops cold in their actions. Even the pilot goes so far as to suspend the Bullhead over the abyss that separates Beacon Academy form the Emerald Forest. The soldiers all look at the two detectives, unsure of how to respond.

"A… murderer?" Yang stutters.

Qrow gives a small explanation. "Mercury Black is a suspected of murdering the owner to Tukson's Book Trade. Your little friend here and I looked into the evidence at the store to realize that you just incapacitated a potential agent of the White Fang."

The soldier look at each other, but that doesn't derive them from their job.

"We appreciate the fact that you have given us a lead on an undercover agent." One of the agents says. "But this doesn't excuse the fact that Yang Xiao Long just broke another student's leg out of ambition."

Qrow tries to say something, but shuts his mouth as he doesn't know how to respond to that. Then his little blue friend speaks up.

"Well then, everyone. Allow me to explain why that statement is only half true. Also, takes all the way to the Justicar. I'd like Ironwood to hear this, too."

Thus the Bullhead proceeds.

The Justicar looks like one of those airliners that takes people to and from Beacon, only bigger and has all of Atlas's neat tweaks. The Bullhead is able to fit onto one its many loading docks, making this an aircraft carrier of sorts. The entire crew, their two passengers, and their one prisoner all walk across the decent sized loading bay.

"Right… wait. Doesn't that mean you also helped an agent of evil!?"

Of course, Qrow finds the fact that the boy soldier helped Mercury seems hypocritical of him. But Kon'iro points out, "They say dwelling on revenge only creates more revenge. Fear on it's own can cause many dark emotions to come about. Thus, kindness was the best way to lighten things up gently"

"Is that so?" Ironwood says, standing outside one of the doors. "I can only assume that you two are going to defend Ms. Xiao Long after her little accident."

Both Qrow and Kon'iro can tell that Ironwood is anxious to make sure Yang gets what she "deserves". But at the same time, so are they.

"Well, James." Qrow says. "On both behalfs, it was no accident."

* * *

**Took me a while to figure out that fighting Emerald in front of everybody would be a bad idea, and it would take too long. I took out my personal take of Yang's situation and put it in the next chapter. But if someone points out a certain habit I have in this chapter, I promise: it may end up being the topic of another chapter. Now that that's out of the way, have a good rest of you day, everyone.  
**


	16. Investigations- Opening

**My older brother and I looked into Chapter 7 of Volume 3 to find that the medic's reaction to Mercury is controversial to the proper way of treating a broken leg or a cut in the knee. I'm pretty much going to state those things as well as have this go along with the story.**

**The feel you're going to get is a bit like that time the Kon and Qrow investigated Tukson's Book Trade, but the evidence is clear. Well then, read on, guys.**

* * *

Chapter 15: Investigation- Opening

_The footage showed that Yang nonchalantly walked up to Mercury and shot his leg. Or more specifically, his lower left leg. I was able to point out inconsistencies between the footage and real life. IE: Mercury Black after the footage takes place._

_If the blow really did break his lower leg, wouldn't it be next to impossible to bend his knee without causing further harm? And from what the footage shows, his leg should be angled inward awkwardly. The Mercury on the stage at the time after the footage showed the opposite. His leg is straight out, with the lower leg angled outward, away from his other leg. However subtle, every detail could make or break the situation._

_Now to compare Mercury's current position with the the one on the footage. The poses are off. The one on screen has Mercury with his legs bent in like a child curling up in a ball. The one after the time of the shot shows someone with one leg in, one leg out, and sitting up fine while massaging where he was hit._

_Then there's the expression. The footage shows that Mercury's… cowering. According to his psyche record, this would actually be considered unusual for Black. Mercury's expression in real life was a mix of pain, concern, and mischief. Why that last bit? The reason is unknown._

_Yang's face in the footage seemed expressionless and cold, while a real Yang would've been angry if incapacitation was an option, according to witness testimony and a look at her psyche records._

_What else was wrong? Oh, right. Their positions on the platform. With the footage being taken from multiple angles, it looks as though portions were interchanged. And if that's not the case, then the colors of people's shirts changing as Yang knocks Mercury's aura to zero is very peculiar. And might I point out that in one moment they had a good distance between them while in the next, they're right next together._

_One more thing to point out is the type of wound inflicted on Mr. Black. The footage shows that he was shot in the lower leg, but at around his knee. If he was shot, then his whole leg would've come off. But instead, no damage was visible on Mr. Black's leg at that moment, but when looking at his form after that took place, we can clearly see that where Yang hit there is a tear in his pant leg and a cut where her gauntlet's protrusion hit._

* * *

It's morning as Ironwood reads down the report a second time with Kon'iro looking determinedly at his previous superior. If it wasn't obvious already, Kon'iro and Ironwood have been at odds for years, mostly from Kon'iro's self-awareness and James supposed desire for control. One of them didn't like that, so he ran, and the general looked and looked for his greatest weapon. Seeing that he's all that's left, Kon'iro is considered an asset to the Athlesian Army. But it seems that the rights to his existence as a weapon has been turned to his friend, who is known to be responsible with people like him.

_"Huh."_ He wonders. _"The last of my kind. I wonder if that's true or not."_

But before Kon'iro can think further, Ironwood slams his scroll on his desk and looks Kon'iro dead in the eyes.

"Do you honestly think this will pass as evidence!?" he shouts, like he was an uptight boss for a newspaper company.

Kon'iro just looks at him, angered that he's not thinking it through.

"Yes." he sternly replies.

"Well, it won't work!"

"And why not?"

"Because the public is already stuck with believing Yang attacked Mercury unphased." James practically screams at the younger one. "Do you think that just because you disagree with her accusation immediately means she's going away free!?"

"No! And that's why I'm looking more into this!" Kon'iro shouts back.

The two continue to bicker over whether they should help Yang Xiao Long or not. Ironwood says no, while Kon says yes. The general even brings up how he convinced her uncle, Qrow, that there is no evidence saying Yang is innocent. Enraged, Kon'iro hurls a chair at Ironwood, who blocks it causing the chair to scratch the bulletproof windshield. The two look each other down with fury in their eyes, until Kon decides to break the debate and get right to work.

"In any case, James, I'm going to investigate this further." he declares.

"And why, in Monty's name, are you going to do that?"

"Because I'm not done with this. I'm going to have to investigate this matter further."

He proceeds to leave the general's office, but then turns around and says,

"A famous attorney once said that we must try to find the truth. And I intend to do that."

Then he leaves, getting some agitated soldiers to point their guns at him. But while the whole ship seems to want to beat the crap out of him, Kon'iro looks at a particular dropship with 5 soldiers all looking right at him. They're nervous, alright. So Kon'iro takes the opportunity to gain their assistance and walks right up to them. The soldiers hastily take their guns and shoot, only for Kon'iro to deflect them with his supershield.

Kon'iro lowers his shield and says, "I need all 5 of you to come with me on an investigation. We're going to prove Yang Xiao Long is innocent."

The 5 men all look at each other while lowering their guns.

"What makes you think we're going to comply?"

Kon'iro gets into a throwing position, making the soldiers back off.

"Because if you don't, either the Justicar is going down or negativity is going to attract enough Grimm to wipe Vale off the face of Remnant."

This gets the men's attention. They start to question whether this kid is for real or not. Well, considering he survived fellow students trying to take him alive, and that he nearly incapacitated Atlas Military forces, they all nod hesitantly and allow Kon'iro aboard the ship.

The young captain looks at the crew as they enter and says, "You guys are a bunch of suckers, aren't you?"

All 5 of them groan at the realization, before the pilot regains his bearings and takes the controls.

"So." he says as everyone belts up. "Where to first, sir?"

All 5 men all look at the teen that got them to go and the kid says, "Amity Coliseum. I need to have a word with some people."

* * *

Kon'iro begins to overview the evidence before him. But he can't help but facepalm at something he recalls from last night. The time after Ozpin gave his uplifting speech, and Kon'iro ran to the underpasses of the coliseum. He swears, those medics should be forced to take first aid again to keep their jobs. Yeah…

Last night…

_Flashback…_

_"Medic! Please! Somebody help him!" Emerald shouts as two EMTs rushed towards her and her injured partner._

_It was last night, and Kon'iro ran inside the lower levels just as Emerald got help from EMTs. He gets behind a corner and observes what's going on. The EMTs both remove the quick leg splint to see a tear in Mercury's pants and a small gash inside. Kon'iro doesn't know what the two were thinking during their spotcheck of Mercury, because the first thing one of them does is look at the other and say,_

_"We need to get this boy to a hospital. Grab a blanket."_

_Worst. Meds. Ever._

_Then didn't bother to check twice as they put Mercury onto a stretcher and put a blanket over him. Kon'iro watches as the mendicants carry Mercury to a boarding dock with Emerald in tow._

_Dang. In his year's of service, he can tell Emerald is acting a bit too childish as she hobbled next to her partner with begging hands._

_The medics then turned to their left as a woman said, "Here! We have an ambulance ready to go." And the three went in that direction, towards one of the_

_The three turned toward the boarding dock to see a nurse with her ambulance's ramp open. Kon'iro peaked around the corner to see his suspect wearing a nurse's outfit with her hair in a bun behind her head. Charcoal black hair, fiery orange eyes, has the face and bod of the average hooker by the late night gang zones, Kon'iro pulled out his scroll and checks the tracker he planted on her just to be sure. Surely enough, he gets the signal, and it's coming from the lady next to the medical vehicle._

_Without second thought, the EMTs immediately set Mercury on the ship while Emerald gets next to his side and pleads for him to be okay._

_"ARE YOU F**KING KIDDING ME!?" he wanted to shout, but it was too late._

_The EMTs left the ambulance then looked at the victim and his partner worriedly. The first one just left the scene while the second turned towards Nurse Cinder._

_"I hope they'll be okay. That girl won't leave his side." he said._

_With a scowl, the nurse replies, "We'll take good care of both of them."_

_If Kon'iro didn't have extended control over his own body, he would've puked at this. Seriously! Who recommended these two!? They should go to some boot camp for readjustment because this would have meant-_

_Wait! What if…!_

_...End Flashback_

"Pilot!" he shouts.

"Yes, sir?"

"Be sure to take us to the emergency docks. I know who we need to find."

* * *

The crew lands at the emergency docks, where response teams are called, like medical, firefighters, and enforcement. The pilot and a gunner wait in the ship as the 3 and the captain walk out onto the coliseum. And that's when they're greeted by two paramedics who are stationed at the coliseum.

"Excuse us, soldiers." One says. "But I'm pretty sure there aren't any alerts over here."

The soldiers all stop as they have no idea why they're here. Kon'iro steps forward as the shorter one and looks at the two men in front of him. Let's see…

Both are brunett, one has darker skin and green eyes, the other has lighter skin and brown eyes. Yep, it's them.

"We aren't here on an alert, men." he says. "In fact, I was looking for the both of you in hopes of finding the truth about last night."

The two EMTs look surprised at his objective, but the darker one just gets in his face and yells, "Seriously? To that I say: Didn't you see what she did to Mercury!?"

Kon'iro reacts by grabbing the EMT's face and planting his forehead into his.

"And to that I say: You two don't know basic first aid, do you?"

Kon'iro shoves the man back as the other one looks scared at the kid who's only a few inches shorter than Yang. The soldiers just stare as they really don't want to piss him off.

"So, let's get down to business." Kon'iro says, pulling out his scroll. "Tell me about the events when you tended to Mercury."

The three of them talk for a bit, and that's when Kon'iro gets his information. He puts the summary onto his scroll:

_The two EMTs were stationed at the coliseum in case of an incident such as last night. When Emerald carried Mercury into the lower levels, they just took him to the nearest ambulance which was piloted by two odd looking nurses. The EMTs didn't bother to check the victim for any signs of broken bones, bleeding, or shock. They simply saw a little blood and took it as a hurry case, with their only attempts at treating him being to put him on a stretcher and cover him with a blanket._

Kon'iro looks over the report again, but then points to the two EMTs and starts to antagonise them. This makes the soldiers get nervous as they back up onto the ship.

"So. You mean to tell me, that you looked at the victim, saw a small cut, and didn't bother to **check the wound**!? **ARE YOU F**KING KIDDING ME!?**"

"There was blood, man!" one says. "If we didn't get him out, he would've bled out!"

"Then why didn't you apply first aid!?" Kon screams. "Why didn't you try to stop the bleeding if that was even happening!? What kind of patch up is, 'put a blanket over him?!'"

Everyone else is shaken, but one of the soldiers sees the younger one's logic and goes in to back him up.

"He's right." he says, making the air around them start to calm down. "If the victim really was bleeding, why didn't you two do something to manage it?"

The EMTs look at each other as they realised they just failed their jobs as emergency medical technicians. They lower their heads and groan, "Because we forgot the first aid kit."

Kon looks at them, and then cuffs the two men together.

"You two are a disgrace!" he shouts as he hauls them onto the dropship. "I'm taking you with us as we go to Vale Hospital!"

The entire crew boards the dropship again with a 16 year old super soldier and two terrible excuses for EMTs.

"Why the hospital, cap?"

"Why else? We're going to approve these two for a first aid refreshment seminar while we go check on the victim."

* * *

The hospital has that same white towering structure that people usually associate hospitals with. And it's a good thing this place has a parking lot meant for aircraft, with a spot reserved for military personnel. The pilot radios in for the hospital to allow them to land. He adds that they're here on an investigation, and to bring in two faulty employees. The EMTs onboard groan as their patheticness is mentioned yet again.

The ship lands, allowing the group to exit and be greeted by a nurse.

"Hello, soldiers." she says, but gets confused as she sees the smaller one remove the cuffs from two EMTs.

"Uh, sir?" she asks, getting Kon's attention. "Why were those two in shackles?"

One of the soldiers walks up to the nurse and says, "These two are guilty of endangering a victim and failing to perform basic first aid."

The nurse puts her hands on her mouth at the thought.

"Also, we're here to check on the victim of last night's incident."

"Oh, right." The lady says. "Come inside."

And with that, Kon, the EMTs, a nurse, and 3 soldiers all head into the hospital.

The interior is typical of any hospital. White everywhere, tiling, people on stretchers, beds, and chairs all around. The group approaches one of the head doctors, making the EMTs cringe.

"Dr. Percepto." the nurse calls.

"What is it?" the doctor says.

Many people know of Dr. Percepto's work. He's probably one of Vale's finest full time doctors. The manis in his mid-40s with black hair, blue eyes, and a monocle over his right eye. He wears the usual white lab coat, stethoscope, and clipboard, with what the group can assume is a telescope/microscope mechanism sheathed on the man's right hip. He would be the best person to talk to next. He looks at the men behind the nurse.

"What are you here for?" he asks the soldiers.

Kon'iro steps forward. "We're here on two occasions. First, these EMTs have failed to perform basic first aid on a victim."

"Is that so?" he asks. Then he remembers where he saw that. "Hold up, you're talking about last night at the tournament, aren't you?"

"Yes. Allow me to tell you their methods."

So Kon'iro explains the famous doctor how the EMTs handled the situation, and he can tell the Doc was either trying to hold a laugh or hold himself from hitting the two men in the head. But then he calms down, and turns to the EMTs, telling them to get enlisted for a refreshment course, and a cut from their paychecks. The EMTs nod before going to one of the upper floors. Then Kon'iro adds that they're here to see the victim of that incident.

Percepto looks at Kon'iro again, saying that he would, but the soldiers with him are making him nervous. So, the 3 soldiers all turn to go outside and wait by the dropship. With that, Percepto dismisses the nurse, allowing him and Kon'iro to head towards one of the front desks.

"Hello, Doctor." the receptionist lady greets. "What can I help you with today?"

"Why, Mable." Percepto says, before putting a hand on Kon'iro's shoulder. "This young man is here to visit Mr. Black."

"Okay. Let me just find him in the system." she says.

She starts to search the system, but then realises something.

"Hold up, he's not here." she says.

"What?" Kon says, making the people around him nervous. "What do you mean he's not here?"

"I mean that Mr. Mercury Black has never stepped into this hospital even once."

Kon'iro thinks for a moment. If Mercury has been reported to have never stepped into the hospital, then what was that ambulance from last night doing?

"Ms. Mable." he says. "Did an ambulance ever touch down here?"

"Sure, but the nurses inside insisted that the patient be taken home."

"That can't be right."

Kon begins to pace as the possibilities start to pour in. Mercury could've been captured, but then there would've been an alert for something like that. But what about the people there at the time, the medics the nurses-

The nurse…

Kon'iro pulls out his scroll and begins to go through the roster of students that are attending the Vytal Festival. He looks and looks, until he sees his suspect. He holds up the lady's picture to the receptionist and asks if the nurse from last night looked like this. The receptionist looks at the picture and nods. Kon then commands her to check if anyone has a face like that among the staff.

Receptionist Mable senses the intensity this boy is in and complies. She looks and looks and looks, only to find out that no, there isn't a single person among the staff that look anything like who Kon'iro is looking for.

After taking a deep breath, Kon places his hands on Mable's desk and says, "I know this is just a thought, nurse. But if you claim that the nurse 'insisted' he'd be brought home, where is Mercury now?"

* * *

**To those who don't know the proper method of treating a wound that Mercury showed in Volume 3 Chapter 7, this is what you do:**

**Step 1: Check the patient.**

**Step 2: Observe the wound, even if it means cutting the lower pant off for a better view.**

**Step 3: Apply pressure to the wound.**

**Step 4: Clean it with sterile pads.**

**Step 5: Apply clean bandages to the wound.**

**Step 6: Straighten out the victim's leg and secure it with boards and some more bandage.**

**Step 7: If the wound is that bad, call 911.**

**In Mercury's case, this is what would've happened if the EMTs were doing their job right.**

**1: EMTs check the patient.**

**2: EMTs cut off the lower pant leg to observe the wound.**

**3: EMTs attempt to apply pressure, only to feel metal underneath.**

**4: Confusion ensues and whatever the heck happens happens.**

**Someone should seriously point this out on the video, because this is a terrible misuse of medical protocols.**


End file.
